Scientology Volunteer Ministers Honor Sacrifice with Patriot Day Banquet


CLEARWATER, Fla., Sept. 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On September 8th, the Scientology Volunteer Ministers held their Patriot Day Awards Banquet to honor those who worked tirelessly and lost their lives serving at Ground Zero. The event was held at Downtown Clearwater’s Historic Fort Harrison at 5:30pm. 

“The first responders at Ground Zero are a perfect reminder of selfless service to others,” said Ms. Glendy Goodsell, Executive Director for the Scientology Volunteer Ministers (VM) Florida. “VMs are honored to have assisted those heroes during a very dark time in America’s history.”

Ms. Mirit Hendrickson, President of VM Florida, served as the MC for the banquet and presented awards to several people who were on the front lines during Ground Zero. Those awardees included Judy Fagerman, a Volunteer Minister; the President of the New York Rescue Workers and a retired NYPD Detective and Lieutenant.

Each of the awardees shared their experiences during 9/11..

Taking lessons learned from assisting first responders on 9/11, VMs have since trained and partnered with more than 800 different groups, organizations and agencies including the Red Cross, FEMA, the National Guard as well as police and fire departments around the world.

In Clearwater, VMs are most noted for their work after Hurricane Irma with several hundred volunteers contributing to relief efforts on September 11, 2017. During a weeklong power outage in the Greenwood Neighborhood, the VMs cleaned the debris from every street in the neighborhood and provided food, water and ice for those in need.

L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology Founder first announced the program as, “A Volunteer Minister does not shut his eyes to the pain, evil and injustice of existence. Rather, he is trained to handle these things and help others achieve relief from them and new personal strength as well.”

For more information about the Scientology Volunteer Ministers, please call (727) 467-6965 or email glendy@volunteerministers.org.

The Fort Harrison Religious Retreat:

Since its construction in 1927, the Fort Harrison in Downtown Clearwater has been the home for many community events and charitable organizations. The Fort Harrison’s current owner, the Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization, has hosted over 500 community events there since a top-to-bottom restoration in 2009. The Scientology religion was founded by humanitarian and philosopher, L. Ron Hubbard, and incorporated in 1954. To learn more, visit www.scientology.org.

Dylan Pires
(727) 467-6860

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1f183018-d224-4c87-9d96-9e1a756b8481

 

7. Patriot Day Award Banquet photo