October 2004

Helping the Families of Heroes

IN THE THREE YEARS SINCE THE TERRORIST attacks of September 11, 2001, the surviving wives and children of firefighters who died in the collapse of the Twin Towers have had to deal with agonizing trauma and grief. They've also had to deal with sudden financial crises as well as torrents of money pouring in from governmental agencies and the public.

To help the 9/11 families, the New York City Fire Department worked with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) to develop a program called "Time to Take Control of Your Finances." Creating the content and teaching the monthly seminars since early 2002 -- all at their own expense and without any intention of profiting from the effort -- have been three Merrill Lynch brokers: Mark Youngs, 46; Rick Cullen, 56; and Bill Shields, 47.

How did these three Merrill brokers based in Annapolis, Md., come to help the families of New York's Bravest? Through a client connection.

One of Youngs' clients is Ron Siarnicki, executive director of the NFFF, which is headquartered in Emmitsburg, Md. Congress created the non-profit organization in 1992 to honor firefighters killed in the line of duty and to assist their families in re-building their lives.

Zona couldn't be with us today, but we remember her. Ann Triplett (Gillen) told us about her passing. If anyone has more details about Zona's passing please let us know at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it