Photos from the September 11th Remembrance Service at Cos Cob Park in the Cos Cob section of Greenwich, Conn. Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. The annual ceremony will again take place by the memorial inside the park on Sunday, Sept. 11 starting at 8:30 a.m.

Greenwich residents will gather on Sept. 11 to remember the lives lost in the 2001 terrorist attacks.

This year’s ceremony will take place at the memorial in Cos Cob Park with a prompt 8:30 a.m. start. Joe Kelly, a member of the Board of Education who is also a former volunteer firefighter and a former board member of the local Red Cross chapter, will deliver remarks.

Local officials, town first responders, members of the Red Cross and members of the Greenwich Emergency Medical Service Explorers program are expected to attend.

Organizers say more than 200 people are expected and reminded attendees to arrive early.

Wells Noonan, a town resident whose brother Robert was killed in the attacks, will open the ceremony. Greenwich Police Capt. James Bonney, who has been a regular presence at the ceremonies, will play the bagpipes; Taps will be played by Ken Pond from the town’s Round Hill Volunteer Fire Company with his son Dylan, a sixth-grader at Central Middle School and a junior member of his father’s volunteer fire company.

Town resident Megan Tyre, who is lead singer in the Cover Story Band, will perform a song as will the Melody Men, a group of Greenwich veterans. There will be a ceremonial reading of the names of residents killed in the attack.

“On Sept. 11, 2001, so many innocents were lost to such a horrific act of terror — including 32 people with ties to Greenwich. They were mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters who each left behind their families and friends a legacy of love and ultimate sacrifice,” ceremony organizers said in a statement. “With that in mind and heart, it is only fitting that, as a compassionate community, we united and built a Sept.11th Memorial.”

The two glass memorials, which include the names of Greenwich’s victims carved into the stripes of the American flag, represent the World Trade Center towers. The memorial was privately funded, largely by the families of local victims, and given to the town as a gift to be part of the park. The ceremony is also privately funded, although support is being sought by the community.

Anyone interested in donating can contact Wells Noonan at 203-984-8212 or via email at September11thGreenwich@gmail.com.

This is not the only ceremony in town. The Glenville Volunteer Fire Company will hold its annual memorial ceremony at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 11 outside the firehouse, where a piece of steel from the World Trade Center has been turned into a memorial. People should arrive starting at 6 p.m. Additionally, in Central Greenwich, a Sept. 11 memorial ceremony will be held by Christ Church Greenwich.

The annual bulb sale of the Garden Club of Old Greenwich will run until Oct. 15. The selection of bulbs is available on its website at www.gardenclubofoldgreenwich.org. It offers nine different varieties of plants, including amaryllis, foxtail lilies, allium and several varieties of daffodils.

The bulbs are all critter-free and the club promises they “will make excellent cut flowers and will look great in your gardens or outdoor containers.” The varieties include old favorites that have “received rave reviews in previous years” as well as new varieties.

The sale is online only. People can place their orders at the website and pick up the bulbs at the Old Greenwich Farmers Market from 2:30 to 6 p.m. Oct. 26.

This is the third year for the sale. Proceeds help fund the club’s community projects. According to club member and master gardener Char Barnes, the club manages several gardens throughout town from the Post Road down to Greenwich Point. It also plants and maintains more than 60 containers in town, sponsors community garden talks, does garden therapy programs and works with Old Greenwich School on gardening and ecological projects.

“Last year, we turned the new traffic island at Lockwood and Tomac into a beautiful garden and this year we intend to renovate the large garden in front of the (Sound Beach) firehouse,” Barnes said. “All of the funds that we raise go to support our work in the community and to share the healing benefits of beauty, science and nature that we express through gardening.”

Christ Church Greenwich will mark the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, with a special event on Sept. 11 at the church at 254 East Putnam Ave. featuring Navy SEAL Mike Hayes. Hayes will speak on “Living Lives of Meaning and Purpose: Lessons Learned from a Navy SEAL.”

The remarks will begin at 11:15 a.m. Coffee, tea and light breakfast served.

The talk will be livestreamed on the church’s website at www.christchurchgreenwich.org.

“With a Bronze Star for valor in combat in Iraq, a Bronze Star for his service in Afghanistan and the Defense Superior Service Medal from the White House, plus a business resume that includes Chief of Staff to the CEO and COO at Bridgewater Associates, few people are more qualified to talk about leadership than Mike Hayes,” the church said in a statement.

Hayes is chief digital transformation officer at VMware and leads the company’s worldwide business operations. Prior to beginning work at Bridgewater Associates, Hayes served for 20 years as a U.S. Navy SEAL. His service brought him throughout South America, Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia, including conflicts in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.

In his last assignment for the Navy, Hayes served as the commander of SEAL Team TWO, which included 10 months as the commander of a 2,000-person Special Operations Task Force in southeastern Afghanistan. He was a White House fellow in 2008 and 2009 and served two years as director of defense policy and strategy at the National Security Council.

In 2021, he published a book called “Never Enough: A Navy SEAL Commander on Living a Life of Excellence, Agility, and Meaning.”

His talk is free and open to the public.

For anyone who has ever longed to sing choral music but been afraid to take the plunge, a golden opportunity is coming their way.

The Greenwich Choral Society will hold auditions at 10 a.m. Sept. 10 and 6 p.m. Sept. 12 for people interested in joining the group. Auditions are open to all.

The society says it is particularly seeking tenors — but is also looking for sopranos, altos and basses. To schedule auditions, call Bill Fulton at 203-322-2990 or send an e-mail to cbful@snet.net to set a date and time.

The Greenwich Choral Society is looking ahead to its traditional December holiday concerts. Benjamin Britten’s St. Nicholas Cantata will be performed as well as Gerald Finzi’s Magnificat, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, and Antonin Dvorak’s Stabat Mater.

More information is available online at www.GreenwichChoralSociety.org.

The Greenwich Choral Society has been performing since 1925 and has grown from 30 singers at its launch to 120 now under the direction of Paul Mueller. Information regarding concerts, tickets, subscriptions and auditions is also available at the website.

Ken Borsuk has been a reporter for Greenwich Time since 2015 but has been covering Greenwich news since 2000. He has extensively covered local government including the Board of Selectmen, Board of Estimate Taxation and Representative Town Meeting.