These are the actual people who made tonight happen….

My family…..

Paula Skalinski and Heather Munroe worked with Saint Ann’s, the City of Boston and Prospect Hill. Niall Murphy and Alec Bonelli – Thank You!

There was a team of big and little people who assembled the candles donated by Prospect Hill – Thank you!

What do I know about stages? The event crew from the City of Boston are some hard working folks….I have never seen a stage, PA system and tent built that fast in my life – Thank You!

Do you really think I know how to MC anything? Fr. Sean and Courtney Grey….thank them for leading us.

I asked everyone if they would like bagpipers and you all gave me a resounding YES! Well, Jim Leahy along with his father Jim Sr, Liam McDermott, Joe Hickey, Kevin Conroy, Mike Casper of the Greater Boston Firefighters Pipes And Drums – Tim MacMaster, Mark Doherty of the band Dot Rats and Scruffy Wallace of the Dropkick Murphys converged and helped make that happen. Thank them by supporting local music!!

You would think I would know a thing or two about media given this world class website…..why is everyone staring at me? Umm yeah, Bill Forry and Dorchester Reporter lent their expertise and they are the reason why the event had good coverage….nobody does it better than Bill and his staff!

Do you really think politicians read this website? Sure, everyone from Dot claims to know a Wahlberg and a Walsh but my guess is that dotrat.com is probably filtered out at City Hall and the State House. I got three words for ya …. Jill Cahill Baker….the girl just rocks! Thank you to Marty Walsh, Frank Baker, Dan Hunt and Dan Cullinane for taking time out of a very hectic day to remember with us.

If you really want me to pretend like I know how to protect you in the event of an emergency I could try, but I think the Boston Police and the Massachusetts State Police did a fantastic job tonight and had a very strong presence.

My fellow bloggers really helped get the word out through social media…they are: News Around Dorchester – Just DoT – Dorchester Online Times – Dot Stop – Caught in Southie – Universal Hub – @WelcometoDot and @OnlyinBos

How could I forget you?

During the lead up, I took a walk through the middle of the field to lend a hand passing out candles. It was my chance to see you all coming into the park. Some of you had very long days at work and school….your hard work is easily read through the eyes. A few of you even came from quite a distance to be at Garvey tonight. I’m sure it would have been much easier to sit at home and watch it on the tube….but you showed up. You came with American flags, you brought the kids, some of you came in wheelchairs. I gotta be honest, none of this surprised me. Dorchester has always been a strong community….and Boston would not have it’s character without neighborhoods like it.

Every last one of you decided to show up and contribute because of your love of country. You wanted to remember the innocent people who’s lives were taken away or forever altered for nothing more than being fellow Americans.

Whether you all know it or not, it’s moments like these that restore my faith in human beings. With all the bad things we see on a daily basis it’s easy to get lost. But it’s these moments that make me so proud to be a Dot Rat.

Thank you all so much for making it happen!!