Thank you Fallbrook

My cousin, Rob Koudleka, was the guest speaker at the 9/11 Remembrance. He is retired from FDNY, and was at Ground Zero on that awful day. Even though I was born and raised in Fallbrook, the events of that day hit close to home for my family because most of my Dad’s family still lives in New York and we have many family members who are firefighters, police or who work in Manhattan.

Rob was a bit nervous about speaking at this event because, although he speaks at meetings with fellow firefighters, he really has not spoken about his experience to an unfamiliar crowd. As you can imagine with the emotion that this day evokes for Rob, as well as just the nerves of public speaking, it took some thought for him to decide to fly out from New York, where he still lives, and speak for us here in Fallbrook.

I just want to tell all who attended that Rob and his wife, Regina, were overwhelmed with your response. He was surprised by the fact that people wanted to shake his hand, get a picture and thank him for speaking. He felt nothing but warmth and gratitude from everyone.

He said he was amazed at the size of the crowd here in Fallbrook and it makes him feel good to know that other cities and towns are not forgetting that day that changed so many lives.

Thank you so much Fallbrook for your warm response to my cousin Rob.

Kimberly Donohue-Savage

Temecula