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A little while ago I read a post by The Zero Boss about The 2,996 Project. The Project was set up to assign each of the victims of September 11, 2001 to bloggers who would post an entry about the life of that honoree. I thought it sounded like a worthwhile project and signed up. I have to admit that when I joined the project I hadn’t imagined the rollercoaster ride I was about to step onto.

The 2,996 Project gave me the task of writing about the life Scott Martin McGovern. (Please Note: Meagan of Reads and Writes is also writing about the life of Scott Martin McGovern.)

At the time of the attacks, Scott Martin McGovern, of Wyckoff, New Jersey, was only 35 years old. Scott had previously worked for Cantor Fitzgerald in One World Trade Center, but in the summer of 2001 began to work at Euro Brokers on the 84th floor of the Two World Trade Center. On September 11th, after the first plane hit One World Trade Center at 8:46AM, Scott called his wife to let her know that he was okay and the he was leaving the building. He then called his sister and his mother. And finally he called his former offices at Cantor Fitzgerald, perhaps to check on his former workmates. Only minutes later, the second plane hit Two World Trade Center at 9:03AM. Unfortunately, although more than 200 employees of Euro Brokers made it out of the building safely, Scott did not. He was one of 61 employees that Euro Brokers lost on September 11th.

But who was Scott Martin McGovern?

Scott was born in Brooklyn and was raised in Tottenville. He was a graduate of Monsignor Farrell High School in Oakwood and obtained a degree (cum laude) in business from SUNY Albany School of Business (one of 19 alums who died in the attacks).

Scott was a husband to wife Jill and the father of two girls, Alana (then age 4), and Nicole (who turned 2 three days after the tragedy). He was obviously a true family man and was jokingly known as “Dad of the Year” by his co-workers. He would wrap Alana, his 4-year-old daughter, in a blanket and carry her to the driveway where they would look into the starry sky and make a wish before going to sleep. Scott’s daughters also enjoyed “Date Night with Daddy” on Tuesday nights when he took one of them out to the playground, to music class, or to dinner. For the previous two years Scott had been studying for brokering exams on a card table in the garage using a coat and a portable heater to stay warm. He had just completed Levels 1 and 2 of the CFA exam.

Shortly after 9/11, Scott’s mother made the following comments in an article commemorating his life; “He was truly an altruistic individual. Never asked, always gave without anybody knowing. It sounds so trite coming from a mother, but he was a good boy. When he was in college and he didn’t have two nickels to rub together, he adopted a child overseas without saying anything. He had his silent charities. He knew a young woman with a toddler. On Christmas Eve, he left a snowsuit and toy train on her doorstep without a card. When she called to ask if he did it, he said, no, it wasn’t him.”

One person who read that story was Susan Trainor, the young woman with a toddler who Scott had helped on Christmas morning in 1989. Susan was a single mother and struggling waitress who found a set of Matchbox cars and a snowsuit on her doorstep that morning. She tried to find whoever was responsible for the deed, but until she happened to read that comment she’d never known who did it.


After spending a few hours doing some research and trying to write a summary of the results, I can see that I know so little about Scott Martin McGovern. He was obviously a very caring and loving person, earning the respect and love of everyone he know. He was someone to admire and a life to honor. I hope that I can be the father and husband that Scott McGovern was for his own family.


For more information about Scott Martin McGovern