(Turner photo.) "She told me she witnessed the explosion when the first building was hit, which was eye level across from her office," Carl recalled. "As she breathlessly told me that she and many others were making their way down, a second plane crashed into World Trade Center Two, the building she was in. She cried and told me 'I love you, Dad. Please pray for me, but I have to go because our building is falling down.'"

When the plane hit the building Kim was in, she had only made it down 32 floors. Kim and her fellow co-workers were still trapped like prisoners, 60 floors above the ground. Without knowing what happened, Kim panicked. The building shook while she and her co-workers were tossed around like rag dolls within the confined stairwell.

When she finally reached the bottom, Kim looked up at what looked to her like two giant candlesticks exploding with flames. This was her place of work, she thought to herself.

Within minutes, it would become a massive graveyard. As the World Trade Center violently crashed to the ground, the fate of thousands of innocent employees and rescue workers was sealed. Many co-workers would eventually perish in the collapse of the building, as a result of the horrific actions of terrorists.

Meanwhile, Carl Turner was sitting at home, impatiently watching the news, hoping and praying that his daughter would emerge from the blast unharmed. While Carl, his wife Pam, and their son Bob watched the events unfold on television, Kim frantically attempted to find her husband, who works in a building in mid-town Manhattan. After a lengthy search, the two were re-united and then immediately called Kim's family. After what seemed like an eternity, Carl and Pam Turner's prayers were answered: their daughter was alive.

Employees of Kim's firm were asked to call and report in, to help account for those still missing. A meeting was later held at an alternate location to inform the employees that the most important goal was for each person to take the time necessary to deal with the tragedy. No date was set to return to work, and despite the days of downtime, the employees will all be paid. The company is trying its best to help the distressed employees in any way possible.

Many families were not as fortunate as the Turner family. Thousands of innocent people became victims at the hands of terrorism. People all over the country lost mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and friends.

If you would like to assist victims of the September 11th terrorist actions in any way possible, please consider the following information:


To Donate Blood:
 Call the Red Cross at 1-800-GIVE-LIFE or America's Blood Centers at 1-888-BLOOD-88 to schedule an appointment.

To Donate Money:




Terror Strikes Close to Home for Baseline Bums Family

by Brenna Temple, San Antonio Spurs

On September 11, 2001, Carl Turner, Vice President of the Spurs Baseline Bums Organization, started his daily routine and headed off to work. To him it was a typical Tuesday; still early in the week, but not a Monday, so things were looking up. Or so he thought.

As he began his duties at the office, he was unaware of the horrific events that had already transpired early that morning. Then at 8:55 a.m., Carl received a phone call from a longtime friend in Denver. His friend told him that a plane had just crashed into the World Trade Center in New York.

A sudden jolt of shock trickled through every inch of Carl's body, leaving him in a sense of dismay, alarm, disbelief. How had an airplane managed to strike the World Trade Center? Was that really possible?

But the most important question to Turner at that moment: Is Kim okay? Carl's only daughter, Kim Turner-DelVecchio, worked for Aon on the 92nd floor of World Trade Center Two. Not knowing yet which building had been hit, Turner frantically reached for his phone in an effort to call his daughter, while simultaneously turning on the news to get more information.

Turner tried repeatedly to reach his daughter, but couldn't get through. The phone lines were jammed by other New Yorkers trying to reach their loved ones at the same time. Carl would later describe the process as "the most agonizing moments of my life."

About 15 minutes after the first plane crashed into World Trade Center One, Turner was able to get through to his daughter on her mobile phone as she was making her way down the stairwell. Although she was in the other tower and had been told by building personnel that it was safe to return to work, Kim was not taking any chances. She continued to run down the stairs, in hopes of emerging from the building before any more destruction occurred.

The Turner family: (clockwise from top) Carl, Kim, Pam, and Bob.