“It was the worst day we have ever seen, but it brought out the best in all of us.”
– Sen. John Kerry
The human pursuit of hope is perhaps a force to rival any other. Indeed, our beloved country and our collective identity were planted upon the bedrock of hope, cultivated by its incessant presence within our hearts, and ultimately blossomed through the blessings it bestowed.
In the years leading up to September 11th, 2001, it had appeared that this human hope that burned strong in our midst knew no bounds. The World Wide Web had been released into the public domain only eight years prior, sparking an age of information yet unparalleled. DNA technology along with similar advances brought about wonders in the fields of medicine and the prosecution of crime. The cellular phone was becoming a fixture in the pockets of the masses, allowing for greater interconnectivity than ever before. International cooperation and global trade allowed for economic success beyond our wildest dreams. Human hope appeared to be flourishing, and utopia was the only logical path forward.
It was amidst the rampant hopes for greater economic success ahead that Shepherd Search Group was born. In June of 2001, Shepherd CEO and Founder David Gantshar began to operate a modest office in New City, New York. With the World Trade Center but thirty miles away, our team set to work to provide quality recruitment, training and HR services to businesses across our great nation. The sky was indeed the limit.
Yet from the sky it was that America’s darkest day struck the nation. Through a haze of fear, horror, and bewilderment, the world looked on as the Twin Towers collapsed and 2,977 men and women lost their lives. The subsequent economic ramifications rattled the nation for weeks to come. The NYSE and the Nasdaq were subject to their longest shutdown since The Great Depression, the markets experienced the most significant losses in NYSE history, and almost 18,000 small businesses were shut down or destroyed. In a world where but a week before hope had reigned supreme, danger and uncertainty now resided. President Bush declared a “global war on terrorism.” Small businesses that had survived struggled not to collapse under the weight of the sinking economy. Collectively, we hoped and we prayed that the world we had once known would rise again. Yet as the “GWOT” raged on and the shadows of the attack against our nation stretched across the years and decades that followed, it became clear with time that some things were not meant to be.
The fire of hope may dim, but is never extinguished. In the aftermath of 9/11, we set about restoring our economy with renewed vigor. The American GDP grew by 2.7% in the fourth quarter of 2001. Businesses began once again to flourish. The stock market recovered losses and moved on to gains. The familiar blossoming of hope began to take on a new form, as our collective trauma shaped us in ways we had not dared to dream of. In the place of fear we found strength, in lieu of horror, courage, instead of helplessness, a fierce determination to rise from the ashes greater than before.
As the events of 9/11 shaped the culture of our nation, they left a lasting imprint on our then fledgling corporation. Having persevered throughout the events of September 2001, we vowed to take our place in the effort to rebuild. We will never forget the 2,977 victims and their families. We will never forget how to stand tall and proud in the face of crisis, and to give progress our best shot despite it all.
We will never forget to hope.