September 14, 2023

Honoring those that keep us safe

By Mark Lynch, Jr., Business Manager, IBEW Local 98

Limited - IBEW Local 98 - Mark Lynch with members at the Navy Yard

Courtesy/IBEW Local 98

IBEW Local 98 Business Manager Mark Lynch, Jr. and the 98 crew at the Navy Yard for the recent 9/11 Heroes Run to benefit the Travis Manion Foundation.

IBEW Local 98 members have the utmost respect for America’s active military personnel and veterans, police officers, firefighters and all first responders. Many of our union members once served in the U.S. military.

Mark Lynch, Jr., Business Manager, IBEW Local 98

Throughout the year, IBEW Local 98 seeks out opportunities to support and honor all those who work to keep us safe. Most recently, we sponsored the Travis Manion Foundation’s annual “9/11 Heroes Run” at the Navy Yard, which featured more than 300 runners. The foundation develops programs, training opportunities and events designed to empower military veterans and families of the fallen, and then inspires them to pass on their values to the next generation. The non-profit is named for U.S. Marine Corps First Lt. Travis L. Manion, 26, who died April 29, 2007, in combat in the Iraq War. He was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq, embedded with an Iraqi army unit that he was leading and training. His final words of selfless service live on to this day: “If not me, then who?”

On the very same day, IBEW Local 98 sponsored the Philadelphia Police and Firefighters annual “Hero Thrill Show,” which raises funds to provide college scholarships for the sons and daughters of the city’s police officers and firefighters who were killed in the line of duty. It’s a noble cause and we’ve been proud to support it for many years.

We also deeply respect all those who served our nation in the military and have provided both financial support and in-kind labor to help create and sustain the city’s Korean War Veterans Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, both located near Penn’s Landing. Sadly, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was recently vandalized, but IBEW Local 98 and other local unions of the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council quickly stepped up to offer at no cost our help to repair the damage as quickly as possible. Why anyone would desecrate a memorial to those who gave their lives to protect our freedoms defies all logic.

IBEW Local 98 also supports the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 22’s “Widow’s Fund,” which benefits the families of Philadelphia firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

This summer, we donated $30,000 to the Philadelphia FOP Lodge 5 Survivors Fund in the names of two deceased Philadelphia Police Officers, Frank King and Henry Gonski. King, a retired officer at the time of his death in 1998, was shot and killed when he foiled an attempted armed robbery of Regan’s Bar on the Roosevelt Boulevard just a few days before Christmas. Officer Henry Gonski was off duty in June 2022 when he was the victim of Vehicular Homicide. A driver traveling at a high rate of speed blew a red light in Northeast Philly and slammed into Officer Gonski’s car, killing him instantly. He was just a few blocks from home when tragedy struck.

All of these men and women are our heroes. IBEW Local 98 is proud to honor them for their selfless service.

Mark Lynch, Jr., Business Manager, IBEW Local 98