LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR: Mittie Vaughn urged the residents of Tifton attending the memorial ceremony to embrace the patriotism of their nation and stand as one people.

TIFTON — Residents of Tifton gathered together at the Leroy Rogers Senior Center the morning of September 11 to pay tribute to those embroiled in the tragedy that occurred more than twenty years ago on the very same day.

The Tifton Exchange Club hosted a Patriot Day ceremony at the center to remember the victims of 9/11 and honor the first responders who worked to help pick up the pieces of the national crisis.

Tifton Exchange Club president Cody Dixon opened the ceremony, thanking those in attendance for their participation and inviting the members of the Tifton Fire Department up for the posting of colors.

Angie Saturday, former president of the Tifton Exchange Club, highlighted the importance of the ceremony, not only to the values of her organization, but to the nation as a whole.

“Our values are family, community, and country,” Saturday said. “I could not be more proud to stand in front of you today, with all these people that believe in family, community, and country.”

Afterward, Mattie Vaughn, a member of the Board of Directors for the Georgia District Exchange Club, was invited up as the guest speaker of the ceremony.

Vaughn reminded those in the audience how the nation had been unified by the tragedy, recalling a story from the beginning of the United States of its first president seeking blessing over their new government and nation from God at a church–one that would one day be located only a short distance away from the place that is now known as Ground Zero.

She explained that the nation had become unified at its founding behind this faith, and asked the residents of Tifton to remain as such in remembrance of those who lost their lives on 9/11.

Dixon echoed those sentiments, recounting the days after the tragedy, when he was just a child in third grade, how his community seemed to band together.

“I remember in those days that followed, it was like a switch flipped, and everyone was now on the same team,” Dixon said. “I remember my parents talking with other folks, and you just felt this…love. I’m a big sports guy, so if you’ve ever been on a team of people, it’s like you just had this bond.”

Dixon urged the audience to love those around them as they would love themselves, no matter who they were or what they looked like, confident that would make the world a better place to live in for all.

The ceremony closed with a moment of silence and the tolling of a silver bell, rung in remembrance of those who were lost on 9/11 and the first responders who worked to help their fellow man overcome the tragedy.