By GARETT VALCOURT
Three members of the Holmes County community carried the names and spirit of their hometown with them Saturday as they climbed 110 flights of stairs in honor of the firefighters who never made it back down on Sept. 11, 2001.
Ponce de Leon Volunteer Fire Department Chief Douglas Remmel, fellow department member Gynell Pettis-Hunter and Bethlehem School student Connor Deal traveled to Panama City Beach to participate in the third annual 850 Heroes for Heroes Memorial Stair Climb at Edgewater Beach Resort.
The local trio joined nearly 200 participants from across the Florida Panhandle in completing a physically demanding tribute to the 343 New York City firefighters who lost their lives responding to the World Trade Center attacks 25 years ago.
Participants climbed 10 floors and descended 10 floors, repeating the circuit 11 times until they had climbed a total of 110 flights which was the height of each of the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers.
For Remmel and Pettis-Hunter, the climb carried an added connection through their service with the Ponce de Leon Volunteer Fire Department. Firefighters were among those who rushed toward the World Trade Center on September 11 as thousands of people were attempting to escape, with many climbing dozens of floors carrying heavy equipment as they worked to reach those trapped above.
Deal represented another generation during the memorial climb. As a Bethlehem High Schoool student participating 25 years after the attacks, Deal was not yet born when the events of September 11 unfolded. His participation served as part of an ongoing effort to ensure the sacrifices made that day continue to be remembered by generations who did not experience the attacks firsthand.
Each completed flight also carried a symbolic purpose. By reaching the 110-flight mark, participants symbolically finished the mission the fallen firefighters set out to complete that morning.
The Panama City Beach event brought together firefighters, first responders, students and community members from throughout the region, but for Holmes County, Remmel, Pettis-Hunter and Deal provided a local connection to a national day of remembrance.
Their 110-flight journey served as a reminder that even a quarter-century later and hundreds of miles from Ground Zero, the sacrifice of those who answered the call on September 11 continues to be remembered in communities such as Ponce de Leon and Bethlehem.
Staff Report 
AMBER PATINO 