WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — For the first time, Pasco County now has memorial for 9/11.
- New 9/11 memorial unveiled at Tampa Premium Outlets
- 9/11 first responder helped spearhead the project
- Memorial honors victims, those affected by illnesses from 9/11
The new memorial was dedicated Saturday morning at the Tampa Premium Outlets in Wesley Chapel.
It was a 9/11 first responder who got it all started.
For the first time, Stephen Spelman is telling his story of survival. He answered the call to the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001. If not for one fateful minute that morning, he may not even be here now.
"On my way into the tower, I was stopped by a lieutenant and asked to search some vehicles. That minute, in hindsight, is why I’m here today," Spelman said.
He was able to survive the collapse of the towers — many of his colleagues did not.
Since moving to Pasco County in 2010, he has searched for a place to remember 9/11 each year.
He teamed up with the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel and now a wall has been set aside at the Tampa Premium Outlets.
At its center — a piece of a firetruck that was destroyed in the attack. Spelman acquired it two years ago and wanted it to be displayed in public.
"I look at it every day. I remember all of the pain and suffering of my co-workers, my friends, family, and their coworkers. My goal was to get this up as a memorial," Spelman said.
The memorial won’t just honor those lost that day but also the first responders we continue to lose due to 9/11 illnesses.
Joining Spelmann at the ceremony was Penlope Bastidas, who lost her husband Mario to cancer two years ago. He spent months searching the rubble of the World Trade Center.
"Before he passed away, he said to me, ‘If I have to do it again, I will do it.’ Because that’s the kind of man that he was," Bastidas said.
With a moment of silence at 8:46, memories of those lost were remembered again. Now, they always will at the new memorial.
"It’s just tremendous. I’m on a cloud right now," Spelmann said.
The Tampa Premium Outlets have plans to expand the wall with other local heroes as well.
Tampa Bay area 9/11 events
- Tampa Fire Rescue - September 11 at 9 a.m. - Tampa Firefighters Museum located at 720 E. Zack St. in Tampa
- St. Petersburg College's Allstate Center - The flags will stay at the center until Sept. 14
- Sarasota County 9/11 Ceremony - 9:45 a.m., Fire Station 16, 5875 Hummingbird Ave.
- Honoring our Heroes - September 11 at 6:30 p.m. - Central Park in Downtown Winter Haven
- New Port Richey Memorial Gathering - September 11 at 7 p.m. - Sims Park in Downtown New Port Richey
- Palm Harbor Curlew Hills memory Garden remembrance 10 a.m.