Episode Transcript
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Welcome to Sunstein Sessions on iHeartRadio,conversations about issues that matter. Here's your
host, three times Gracie Award winner, Shelley Sunstein. I want to introduce
you to someone I see in persononce a year, and when I see
him, I'm gasping for breath andI really can't talk to him other than
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saying hi, because I know GregJohannison as Safety Greg, who is one
of two water stops on the WorldTrade Center climb. You are the first
water stop or second. See,my mind is so fuzzy doing the climb
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fire floor, You're all right,So you're the second and you also join
the morning shout outs at forty inthe morning. So we actually knew each
other, I think virtually before Iknew you personally. But it's a very
strange it's a very strange relationship wehave. So I know him as safety
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Greg, but Greg Joe Hannison fromMonroe Township, New Jersey. So you're
part of the World Trade Center climbed, the support team. And what time
do you have to get up forthe climb because we are there pre dawn.
Yes, that's that's that's correct.So the the alarm clock goes up
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at two thirty am, and we'redown on Barkley Street at three am between
three and three thirty and the teammusters there. The water team musters there,
and four am we're into the intothe tower and up to the one
hundred and fourths to start filling upthe water jugs and getting ready for the
climb. What time does the lastHow long does it take for like the
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last climber to complete the climb.It's a it depends. So wage seven.
We had seven waves this year.We of course we maxed out.
We sold out right. Tunnelton Towersalways sells that event out um Wage seven
um. Sometimes it takes a littlebit longer because you know different climbing skills.
We try to have a set groupgo up less so we know that
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they'll last one's up time wise,I mean we have to be out of
the stairwells by nine thirty ten o'clock, so I would say nine thirty nine
five the latest. Okay, Now, in the real world, what do
you do? So in the realworld, that worked for a company called
Spinello Companies. We are an infrastructurerehabilitation company and I'm the corporate safety director.
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I covered New Jersey, Baltimore onthe west coast to ensure that the
work is a working safe in theconstruction industry. Oh, by the way,
I didn't start out and say HappyFather's Day, Happy Father's stadium.
The father of two daughters, rightdaughter, one son. My daughter is
twenty seven, My son's twenty andmy son's a volunteer for the Solo Foundation
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as well. Oh great, Sohow did you get involved in the Stephen
Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation? So, as the son of a New York
City firefighter, you know, Icaught wind a bit through a friend of
mine, Jerry Callahan, Richie Loretteand Jerry Callahan, both from two forty
one one o nine out of Brooklyn, who introduced me to Chief John la
Barbara and John John LaBarbara. Greatguy welcomed me with open arms and took
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me in and I started. Istarted volunteering at the run. I was
just a helper at the fdmy girltent, and then I started helping out
at the barbecue on Staaten Alland whichis Firefighters for America's Bravest. And then
I was it was funny. Igot appointed to be the Captain of the
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FDM Y Girl Team Downtown, whichI've been doing for the last ten years
as captain. So that's how Igot involved with it. It was just
it was just a conversation in thebackyard of the barbecue one day I was
talking with I was talking to myfriend Jerry, and he says, all
right, you know we do this, and he's explained the foundation to me
and I said, I'm in andagain, as the son of New York
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City firefighter, I know if mydad was alive today, he would absolutely
be part of it as well.It was actually Greg who reached out to
me on Facebook and suggested we doa Sunsteen Sunday segment on volunteerism. What
do you get out of volunteering fromfrom my days back in I started in
a small hometown hospital in Staten Island, a rich Memorial hospital. I started
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volunteering and you know, the praiseand the joy that you see in helping
somebody else really started it. Andthen I became I joined the NYPD Auxiliary
Courses Section. I made sergeant withthat, you know that I had.
There was so much good that cameout of that. But one of my
biggest moments was I prevented a suicide. And you know, knowing that that
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woman made it through life without withouttaking her own was was it great?
Was one of my great moments.And then, um, what what did
you say to her? Tell usthe circumstances, So the story what that
was. We were doing on routinepatrol on Human Out Avenue, Staten Island,
and I noticed the vehicle parked onthe side of the road, Uh,
in a bus stop, and weswung around again. I thought that
maybe she was broke down. Umwhen I when I pulled past the vehicle,
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I could have sworn I saw aplastic bag over the person's head and
uh. And sure enough, whenI got out of the vehicle and approached
the vehicle, that was the case. And uh, I called you know,
we were the eyes and the earsof the of the NYPD. I
called it in and they had asector car show up, and the sector
car for sure that the woman hada suicide note next to her, and
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they ambulance came and took her awayand I followed up at the hospital.
And about a fact months after thatincident, I follow up at the hospital
and she was doing good. Soyeah, that was that was one of
them. That was one of mybig moments with that, the Silver Foundation.
Listen is there is no doubt thatTunnel to Towers Foundation is. There's
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so much reward in that when yousee someone get a home dedicated to them,
we pay off a mortgage. I'mdoing a big event down in South
Jersey to honor a fall in NewJersey State Trooper Matthew Razukis. That's down
at the Smith Bill and that's comingup July. There is so much good
that comes out of the SILAR Foundation. And again I get goosebumps talking about
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it because you it's the greatest foundationin the world and you can't not get
satisfaction and a volunteering for them.Let's go back to you being with the
Auxiliary NYPD. What does the AuxiliaryNYPD do exactly and how does somebody get
involved? Yeah, so the NYPDyou go down to your local precinct and
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you sign up for that. Andif I'm still correct, it's been it's
been a while since I've been involvedwith that. But they give you the
training and what to do, andyou're really the eyes and ears of the
NYPDA. So you know, Iremember years ago a couple of NYPDO officers
excuse me, auxiliary officers were shot. They were just following and I'm sure
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you remember that. And they werejust following a suspect, you know,
keeping the sector cause abreast of wherethey were. We are. It was
just really the eyes and ears ofthe police. But we assisted in helping
out at some events as well,some public events, and just you know,
the presence of the uniform and stuffwould would keep calm. I am
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speaking with Greg Johannison of Monroe Township, New Jersey, and I know him
best for being the second water stepand there's only two up the one hundred
and four stories of the World TradeCenter climb, which we just did on
June fourth to raise money for thewonderful Tunnel two Towers Foundation. And I
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want to talk to you a littlebit of our fatherhood because today is Father's
Day. Um, what are whatare your greatest feelings about being a dad?
What were your proudest moments? Well, without getting choked up, I'll
have to say that while my daughterwas born and I was in the room
with that, that is, Um, that is the most undescribable feeling a
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person could ever have, seeing thebirth of a child, especially the first
child. UM, and you knowthat she's twenty seven. Caught my daughter
Quartey's twenty seven. But daddy's alittle girl right oh till the end.
And that just you know. I'mmarried thirty one years. I have a
great wife. And and then Kylecame along after we moved to Jersey,
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and Kyle has has. I thinkhe's got that worth ethnic that we all
we all love to see, especiallyin the young in the younger generation.
Work work, work, and youknow he jumped right in when he had
the opportunity. He's been doing he'sbeen doing volunteering with me with the IF
the TAAs Foundation is probably since hewas ten or eleven years old. There
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was putting out paper plates or pullingpork off a bookbuts for for an event.
You know, he's he was therewith me. But I can't ask
for anything better than having a lovingwife and two kids. It's a it's
a great run. What do youthink was the best advice you gave your
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kids? UM, don't embarrass thejohann Us the name that was one.
UM. You know, if youif you need something, you know,
come to me and talk to meabout it. UM to know that they
go out and work hard every day, uh, to to support themselves.
Kyle's at Kyle's going to Rutgers,so you know we support the student of
course. Um. But he worksevery day too. He works for the
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township. He does he does socialmedia for the township. A matter of
fact, he's down. He wasdown to Trenton last week, down in
Trenton, um with the township.Anyway, U. Yeah, the best
device is just just keep doing whatyou're doing and keep yourself out of trouble.
And again, if you need advice, please, you know, by
all means, come and talk tome like a father. That's that's what
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I really encouraged them to do.So did you did you get your son
involved with volunteering or did the ideacome from him? How did he get
involved at such a young age.Well, he saw me doing it,
and of course we couldn't leave aten year rolls home alone, right,
so he had to come with me. But he jumped right in. And
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I'll give you a perfect example.We were doing the firefighters for America's Bravest
on Staten Island Barbecue and we wereworking and there was other hand. There
was a bunch of kids there.They were playing in the playground. Meanwhile
Kyle was over, you know,getting the getting the paperwere out and setting
tables up with us. And yeah, as young as I maybe he was
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eleven or twelve at the time whenthat event took place, but he just
jumped right in. He just jumpedright in. And I got to say,
around the house today, even aroundthe house, he just does what
he needs to do and keeps usgoing. The United States is, like,
I think, the only industrialized countrythat doesn't have maternity leave, much
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less paternity leave. But things havereally changed since we had our kids,
because now you can take family leave, at least in New York State.
You know, they provide for familyleave, and you actually have up to
a year to take I think thetwelve weeks. I mean, it's a
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whole different ballgame. So what wasit like when your kids were born?
Was your wife working and what wasthe situation. Yeah, when Corney was
once, she was working for SolomonBrothers in Manhattan seven World Trade, and
yeah, she took she took maternityleave. I was working in Port Elizabeth
over in Jersey, in the Portof New York in New Jersey, and
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no, I didn't at the time. I did not have that. Today
in the work for us, Isee I see men and women both taking
maternity the league some companies do offfrom aternity leave rather than family league.
Right right, So where was yourwife on September eleventh? She at September
eleven, she was she was Wewere already in Jersey. She was home
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at the time. On nine toeleven, I was in Uh. I
was in Port Elizabeth, watched thesecond plane at the tower. It was
uh something that obviously will never forget. Um that was. That was.
That was a tough one. Wehad to evacuate the entire port of New
York and New Jersey. I wasa big part of that. Getting everybody
out of that area was uh was. It was a big challenge and we
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um. You know, I knewthat a lot of my friends, uh
Billy Eising grind as a matter offact, that he's raising the flag of
Green Ground zero. Him and Igrew up together, so I knew a
lot of I knew a lot ofguys that were responding to that. I
lost two very very close friends,John Japura and Gary Gidel, both who
I grew up with in Tottenville.Staten Island. Um Gary's father and myfel
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they're on the job together. Theyknew each other, they both lived in
the same town. We were thebest of friends. And all of us
were in Troope twenty one in boyScouts on Staten Island, so it was
tight. But anyway, that's whereI was on nine to eleven. And
what was your job at the time. I was a safe I was doing
safety for the big ships over inPort Elizabeth, so and then I was
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a manager with safety management at thetime. I head a director over may
And uh, yeah, it wasyou know, we practiced that, right,
So we worked for you. Wewere us Customs was a big factor
over there as well, and wepracticed that. We had drills of shutting
the ship down, pulling up thegangways, evacuating and we did that and
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had muster points for people to musterwhen there was an emergency like that,
and we practiced that, and Itell you, it went, it went
really well. It went really well. But then when they realized it was
it was more than just a planehit the tower. It was both towers
being hit and it was a massevacuation in a short amount of time.
Well, we only have about anotherminute left. What would you like to
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add that we haven't talked about yet, that we haven't talked about. I
would just like to encourage people tostep up and volunteer. That's what I'd
really like people to do. Iwould like the younger generation to start volunteering.
And Shelley, as you know,on the sixty fourth floor of the
Tower climb, I had four youngmen there. They just graduated high school.
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I've seen them grow up volunteering likemy son with the Silver Foundation.
But I just want to encourage peopleto go out and volunteer, be part
of it, and get and getthe satisfaction of volunteering. It's such a
great feeling. Like you said,it's such a great feeling when you accomplish
an event. And myself with theSilver Voundation, I will be with them
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till the day I die, andthey are it's a great foundation. We
do a lot of good and youreally can't get a better satisfaction and taking
care of the people who take careof you, our catastrophically woted veterans,
first responders and so on. Well, I thank you so much, Greg
Johnnerson, and a happy Father's damyou Shelly's been it's been a blass.
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Thank you so much for doing thankyou, thank you so much. You've
been listening to Sunsteen sessions on iHeartRadio, a production of New York's classic rock
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