09/11/2026
25 years ago today, 2,977 people went to work, got on airplanes, kissed their families goodbye, and never made it home. Behind every one of those numbers was a real person with a family, friends, coworkers and a community that expected to see them again.
Maybe that’s something you understand a little differently as you get older, raise a family, own a business and become more connected to the people around you. You start thinking less about numbers and more about the families. The husband who didn’t come home. The mom who didn’t get to pick her kids up. The firefighters and police officers whose families knew exactly where they were headed and could do nothing but wait.
We see our own community every day. We see the families at school, at ball games, at the grocery store, in other local businesses and right here at the shop. We know the people raising kids here, working here and building their lives here. And we’re fortunate to have men and women in this same community who are willing to leave their own families and run toward somebody else’s worst day.
So today we especially want to recognize our friends at Smithville Fire Department, Northland Regional Ambulance District, and the Smithville Police Department. We know some of these men and women personally, and we see them around the same community we all call home. Their job can go from an ordinary day to somebody’s life being on the line in a matter of seconds. We have a tremendous amount of respect for them and for the families at home who support them.
September 11th also reminds us of something we wish this country hadn’t lost so much of. In the days afterward, people put a lot of the bu****it aside. Neighbors helped neighbors. Communities came together. American flags were everywhere. People were proud of their country and genuinely looked out for one another.
We could use a hell of a lot more of that today.
We’re proud to be Americans. We respect our flag, support our military and first responders, and believe in taking care of your family, looking out for your neighbors and supporting the community around you. Those are values that matter to us every day, not just on September 11th.
Today we remember the people who never made it home, the families who had to keep going without them, and everyone who ran toward the danger when others needed them most.
And that flag hanging in our shop isn’t there because it looks good in a picture. It hangs there every day because we’re proud of what it represents, and because the values behind it mean something to us.
Never forget. 🇺🇸
