Evanston will mark the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks with a public ceremony at Firefighters Park, featuring survivor Mark Shore. Shore was on the 62nd floor of the World Trade Center's South Tower when the attacks began in 2001. He made it out alive. Twenty-five years later, the Evanston Township High School graduate will stand at the same park and speak again.

The Evanston Fire Department and Evanston Police Department are hosting the ceremony Friday, Sept. 11, from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. at Firefighters Park, 2040 Maple Ave., at the corner of Simpson Street and Maple Avenue. The event is open to the public, according to the Evanston Roundtable.

The program will feature presentations by Illinois House Majority Leader Robyn Gabel, who represents Evanston's 18th District, and former Mayor Steve Hagerty. Fire and police chiefs, chaplains and other guests are also scheduled to speak.

Shore grew up in Evanston and moved back to the Chicago area in 2009, according to CBS News Chicago in a 2015 report. He has been a regular speaker at the annual ceremony.

At the 2019 observance, Shore described the moments inside the stairwell as the second plane struck: "When we got there, the ceiling was collapsing. There was an explosion in the elevator shaft …" he told ABC7 Chicago.

Hagerty, who served as Evanston's mayor from 2017 to 2021, has a direct connection to the aftermath of the attacks. His emergency management consulting firm helped manage the federal government's $7.4 billion public assistance fund after Sept. 11, 2001.

The ceremony follows a format Evanston has held for years. A 2019 city press release described a program that included an honor guard, posting of colors, chaplain reflections and a bell ceremony. In 2018, about 100 people gathered at the park at 7:30 a.m., the Chicago Tribune reported.

Evanston holds a piece of steel from the World Trade Center, according to CBS News Chicago. The 9/11 Memorial in New York honors three people who were born in Evanston.

For more information, residents can call or text 847-448-4311 or dial 311 in Evanston.