TOPIC: ‘THE FIRST, FIRST RESPONDERS’

When Paulie set out to honor his fallen United Flight 175 colleagues his original plan was to push an airline beverage cart from Boston Logan International Airport to Ground Zero in the hopes of raising awareness of the roles they played that day.

“I knew, in the enormity of it all, that they’d likely be forgotten. There were so many heroes that day, and in the days that followed. But these people were the first - the first to respond, battling terrorists in the sky in hand-to-hand combat. They deserved to be recognized. I wanted the families to hear it said: they were heroes.”

Paulie first planned to push the cart solo. Then Stephen Lynch and Dennis Morrisey, two lifelong friends from high school, signed on to drive the support vehicle. Before he knew it, Paulie’s friend NHL star Kevin Stevens and his sister Kelly, and Kevin’s organization Power Forward, had joined the effort - he had a whole team behind him. "It was unbelievable!”

Local media soon picked up the story of a former flight attendant pushing a beverage cart 220 miles to honor his fallen colleagues. This was followed by national media, and soon enough the story of Paulie’s Push was being covered internationally, as far away as Australia. Paulie found himself being approached by well-wishers on the street, many with stories to share about how 9/11 affected them personally. What was at first a simple one-man effort to raise awareness of the heroism of the flight crews of 9-11-01 had become a worldwide movement.

“All throughout the Push, people kept coming up to me, asking what was next after we reached Ground Zero,” Veneto remembers. “I realized two things: this movement shouldn’t be limited to one day a year, and we had to do something to keep the momentum going…”

Hear stories from the Push to Ground Zero, as well as 2022’s Push to the Pentagon. Book Paulie to speak - email press@pauliespush.com.

TOPIC: ‘DON’T QUIT FIVE MINUTES BEFORE THE MIRACLE’

Paulie began to envision an effort to memorialize his fellow crew members just days after 9/11 - but it would take nearly two decades for everything to come together. The delay was due in part to an opioid addiction Paulie would battle in the years following the terrorist attacks - itself the result of pain pills prescribed for a work-related injury, but one Paulie would later realize he fell into with ease because the pills were numbing the emotional pain he was feeling, as well.

“I didn’t plan for the story of my recovery to become such a big part of all of this,” Veneto says, “but I am open about sharing it - if you can aid others in their recovery, you do - and I was stunned by how many people who came out to meet me on the Push route wanted to walk with me and share how opioids have affected their lives. I met former pilots, first responders, and others whose lives were affected by 9/11, and addiction was the result. There’s not a segment of society that this hasn’t touched.”

Paulie, who celebrated seven years of sobriety on September 11 this year, credits his desire to honor his coworkers as a major part of the motivation to keep going. “I tell people, ‘Don’t quit five minutes before the miracle!’ There were times that I almost gave up, but with each interview I do on the road, and each person I meet, I can’t help but look at what I would have missed out on if I had - I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish all of this!”

Paulie’s personal story is one of perseverance and triumph. Book him to speak - email press@pauliespush.com.