ANDY ZIMMERMAN ‘00 holds a great deal of respect for those who serve. For the past six years, he has put that veneration into action, climbing the 104 stories of One World Trade Center in New York City to raise funds for the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. (In 2024, he finished the annual Tower Climb in 22 minutes and 2 seconds – finishing 46th among more than 800 participants.) The event memorializes New York City Firefighters who died in the Sept. 11 attacks. 

This year, the four-time marathon and three-time ultramarathon runner – along with his Lewis Lumber colleague Ed Pry – devised another way to honor first responders. At 11 p.m. on Sept. 10, they left Zimmerman’s home in Lewisburg and ran 34.3 miles to their Picture Rocks workplace. 

The timing and the distance were significant: They ran overnight before working a full day to honor the New York firefighters who had just finished a night shift when they heard the news of an airplane hitting the World Trade Center and headed to the scene. On their run, Pry carried an American flag, and Zimmerman a First Responder flag, along with a list of the 343 firefighters – with their ranks and units – who lost their lives that day. During breaks, when lighting allowed, they read each of the names. 

Zimmerman hopes to make the run an annual event, opening it to the community (and likely moving it to daylight hours) to raise funds for the volunteer fire companies that cover the stretch from Lewisburg to Picture Rocks. Most of the area’s firefighters, Zimmerman points out, get paid nothing for the round-the-clock service they provide. 

“Those volunteer departments, a lot of them rely on chicken barbecues and bingo nights,” he said. “I think sometimes they get taken for granted.” 

Zimmerman, who plans to continue his annual participation in the Tower Climb, holds a degree in landscape/nursery technology.