Jerry Sanford was born and raised in New York City and spent 30 years in the New York City Fire Department, retiring as Press Secretary in 1997.  He relocated to Naples in 2000 and was hired by the North Naples Fire District in the spring of 2000 to serve as the districts Public Information Officer.  He has a vested interest in the Freedom Memorial, having lost longtime friends and colleagues to the terrorist attacks on New York’s Twin Towers.  He returned after the attacks and spent one month in the FDNY press office coordinating with the major network news programs.  Jerry is the founder and former President of the Gulfcoast Retired Firefighters Association and Chairman of the Freedom Memorial Task Force.