Historic moments burn deep images into the hearts and minds of a generation that witnesses them. That’s why anyone alive when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor or lived through the assassination of  President Kennedy remembers exactly where they were when they heard the news.

It’s why a new generation will never forget where they were when harrowing news arrived on September 11, 2001.

I remember where I was when I heard the news of the first plane crashing into the north tower of the World Trade Center. I was sitting at breakfast at a small diner in Midland, MI with a small team of SpringHill staff and volunteers. We were doing our last run through of a presentation for a significant grant we were seeking from a major foundation.

Because I’d been in my role as SpringHill’s President for only 90 days and with this grant on the line I became focused on the task before us. During our discussion one of our teammates received a phone call from his wife saying a plane had just flown into one of the World Trade Center towers.

Frankly, I quickly shrugged it off as a horrible accident and continued leading our team in the preparations for this important presentation.

But then we got the second phone call about the second plane that crashed into the second tower I knew that something significantly more important than our presentation just happened.

In the midst of this unfolding news we made our presentation to the foundation and received one the largest grants in SpringHill’s history.

But truth be told, I will always remember where I was on September 11, 2001, not because of the incredible grant we received, but because of the images of this historic, life altering event, which are now burned into my heart and mind – forever.