Joe Dittmar Biography
Joe Dittmar is Branch Property Manager in Richmond, VA for Colony Insurance Company, part of the Argo Group. He is a 29-year veteran of the business and has held similar senior management positions at Lexington Insurance (AIG), Allianz Global Risks US Insurance, CNA Insurance Company and Wausau/ Liberty Mutual Insurance. A native of Philadelphia, PA, he moved to the Chicago area in 1997 and on to DC in April of 2006. On September 11, 2001, Joe was attending a normal business meeting with representatives of various commercial insurance carriers at the NYC offices of Chicago-based AON Corporation- on the 105th floor of Two World Trade Center. One of only seven survivors of the meeting of 54 insurance executives, Joe's sharing of his experience of that day gives an informational, historical, inspirational and even motivational insight into one of the most incredible events in US and World history. Joe is a Gaithersburg, MD resident, devoted husband and a father of four, grandfather of one and is a founding member of the Naperville 9/11 Memorial Commission and the Willow House 9/11 Survivors'support group
Dittmar Presentation Overview
Lessons Learned from a Date with Destiny/ A Historic and Inspirational View of 9/11/01:
Joe Dittmar's eyewitness account of the sights, sounds and scenes from inside and outside the World Trade Center complex on 9/11/01 presents an intriguing and gripping perspective on what really happened before, during and after the terrorist attacks. While steeped with facts and observations of historic proportions, his presentation also presents concepts and ideas on what was learned that day and what lessons we can continue to teach. These lessons are historical, but also personal, philosophical, ethical and social. The recitation of his journey from the 105th floor of 2 WTC all the way back to Aurora, IL in a 36 hour period provides a wealth of insight on an event that not only changed the world, but changed the way we proceed with our daily lives as Americans and residents of an ever-compacting world community. Joe’s perspective deals with not only our political and militaristic vulnerability, but also with the re-awaking of patriotic spirit and human determination. His offering stresses the point of "always remember and never forget", allowing all of us to help him continue to "tell the story" so that perhaps history doesn’t have to repeat itself.
