Naperville to mark 17th anniversary of 2001 attacks

The Exchange Club of Naperville is sponsoring its annual Sept. 11 remembrance on the 17th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

This year's event will take place starting at 6 p.m. at the Cmdr. Dan Shanower/Sept. 11 Memorial behind the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St., along the Riverwalk. In case of rain, it will move inside the municipal center council chambers. The Naperville Municipal Band will play at 5:45 p.m.

From noon to 12:30 p.m., there will be a special 30-minute concert on the bells of the Millennium Carillon, including a solemn tolling of the "Big Joe" bell, followed by "In Memoriam," a carillon piece written following the events of Sept. 11 and meant to be played in bell towers throughout the world. Carillon music also can be heard beginning at 5:30 p.m.

This year's featured speaker is Kris Habermehl, who has been a fixture on Chicago radio and TV for a quarter of a century.

Working for decades from aboard the CBS-TV and radio helicopters "Chopper 2" and "Chopper 780," Habermehl has been able to combine work with his other passion, flying. Habermehl has won five regional Emmys and numerous other broadcasting awards.

He also lectures on severe weather events, maritime and aviation history and can be seen on various PBS documentaries on Chicago.

When not on the air, Habermehl is a firefighter lieutenant in charge of training at the Kirkland Community Fire District in northern DeKalb County. He was one of the first to arrive on the scene of the deadly tornado in Fairdale in 2015 and remains actively engaged with residents there to this day.