The best way to honor service is through service of your own

Terry Gerton Stephen, let me begin with you. 25 years now after 9/11, what made you decide this anniversary should focus not only on remembrance, but also on service?

Stephen Holley Yeah, so this is the eighth year that Carry the Load has been in a partnership with the National Cemetery Administration, coming together on 9/11 for a day of service and remembrance to, you know, the beautification of our national cemeteries and cleaning headstones and we’re thrilled that our 9/11 day of remembrance and service on this 25th anniversary is presented by and in partnership with the Government Employees Health Association, GEHA.

Terry Gerton And Stephen, have you seen the public’s relationship with 9-11 change, not only over the 25 years since it happened, but in the eight years since Carry the Load has had this day of service?

Stephen Holley Yes, you know, service is an expression of remembrance. It brings people together. And we’ve seen that volunteering side by side, we’re not just looking back. We’re carrying forward the values of unity, gratitude and service that, you know, the vast majority of Americans demonstrated there in the immediate aftermath of September the 11th.

Terry Gerton David, there are many worthy causes organizations can support. Why did you and GEHA decide that this effort was the right way to mark this 25th anniversary?

David Hakanson For GEHA, this partnership, it puts our values into practice. And GEHA is a national company with a community focus. We were founded in 1937 by postal clerks who passed the hat to help one another in times of need. Now, almost 90 years later, we continue to serve federal employees, retirees, military retirees and their families with health and dental benefits. We feel that service is a powerful form of honoring others. And for us, we’re really excited to partner with Carry the Load as it reflects our shared belief that service is one of the most powerful ways we can remember, honor, and support others.

Terry Gerton Was there something special about the connection between federal service, military service, and national cemeteries that especially resonated with the GEHA mission?

David Hakanson It is. It is directly aligned to our values and we like to be able to focus where our members live, work and serve and being able to have that community focus for all those locations where we can be partnering with Carry the Load.

Terry Gerton And Stephen, tomorrow is the day of service and volunteers will gather at more than 140 national cemeteries. What will they actually be doing and how did those activities contribute beyond just maintaining the grounds?

Stephen Holley You know, volunteers will care for these sacred cemetery grounds. Activities will focus on beautification, caring for the cemetery grounds, you know, primarily cleaning headstones. And it’s an opportunity for for volunteers to work alongside neighbors, families, other volunteers within their community, you know. Honoring the people represented in these national cemeteries. And the closest one will be there to your listeners is in the Alexandria National Cemetery where we’ve got a couple hundred volunteers, You know, signed up to serve

Terry Gerton For someone who’s never participated in an activity like this, what tends to surprise them most once they’re there?

Stephen Holley You know, I think it’s, service brings us together. And I always tell people when you’re not thinking about, when you are focused on the needs of others, you obviously, you know, the things that you’re dealing with oftentimes take a back seat in your, you find a way to get outside yourself and to serve, you know a greater purpose. And that’s where, you now the unity, the gratitude, the remembrance is really what makes this, this volunteer opportunity so special.

Terry Gerton Stephen Holley is president and co-founder of Carry the Load Foundation. David Hawkinson is president and CEO of the Government Employees Health Association, Incorporated. David, let me come to you. This effort is really built around participation rather than ceremony. Why is doing something like this such an important part of remembering?

David Hakanson The Day of Service really creates a visible expression of gratitude in the communities all across the country. It brings people together around a shared purpose. It helps us remember something that people and allows them to actively participate in. As you know, many younger Americans actually weren’t even alive on 9/11, so this Day of Service gives families and communities a tangible way to share that meaning across generations. We’ll have volunteers leave with a strong personal connection to the sacrifices made by our military, veterans, first responders, and their families. We’ll people coming to this with very different backgrounds, but when they leave, they leave with a unified respect for service and sacrifice.

Terry Gerton It does seem like, as you both have described this event, not only is it about community, but it’s also about memory and service. What have you heard back from previous versions of this? What have people said mattered most to them? David, maybe you first and then Stephen.

David Hakanson For us, we hear from our employees how they attend these events and how it really brings the mission, the company’s mission to life for them. We hear from members on how they see us as a company living our mission through partnerships with Carry the Load.

Terry Gerton And Stephen?

Stephen Holley Yeah, I would tell you that for those who have a personal connection at these at these national cemeteries, whether it’s a loved one, a family member, a community member, obviously it gives them an opportunity to celebrate that service and sacrifice and for many of our volunteers there is no personal connection. That allows them to plug into the community and again honor those men and women who answered the call not only on that fateful day 25 years ago, but in service to this country since then.

Terry Gerton David, obviously a lot of our federal drive listeners have dedicated their entire careers to public service. What connection do you see between that tradition of service and the volunteerism that this effort encourages?

David Hakanson As a nonprofit, GEHA lives its mission. We focus on how do we help our members be healthy and well, and we try to live that out in every aspect of the work that we do. We understand the service the federal employees put in and their dedication to that. And as a nonprofit we try to make sure that we’re also reflecting that in how we partner with organizations like Carry the Load.

Terry Gerton And do you think this kind of effort helps folks appreciate the value of just showing up and helping the civic engagement with their community?

David Hakanson We do. We feel that for our employees, it allows them to live their mission, and for our members, it sees how a company, a non-profit company who focuses exclusively on federal employees, retirees, and military retirees is living its mission through these actions.

Terry Gerton Stephen, for folks who might have their calendars still open for tomorrow and are interested in taking part, what’s the easiest way for them to get involved?

Stephen Holley Your listeners can go to carrytheload.org and they can sign up and see all of the different, like we said, over a hundred national cemeteries across the country, but those in closest proximity to them, which I believe would be the Alexandria National Cemetery. So carrytheload.org.