09/11/2026
A look back at how is started: (Good read and a 60 sec. Video.)
The memorial began in 2021 with three Cranbury teenagers, Donovan Mavoides, Gavin Mavoides, and Tess Staples. At the time, they were 16-year-old rising juniors at The Peddie School. As the 20th anniversary of September 11 approached, they wanted to create something meaningful in their hometown that would honor those who were lost and help ensure that younger generations continued to understand and remember the significance of that day.
Together, they conceived, planned, funded, and organized a field of 2,977 American flags in Heritage Park, one flag representing each innocent life lost on September 11, 2001.
What started as an idea among three teenagers quickly became a community effort. Family, friends, neighbors, members of Boy Scout Troop 52, the Helene Cody Foundation, and many Cranbury residents came together to help. Volunteers transformed the field at Heritage Park into orderly rows of American flags.
The result was both simple and incredibly moving. Throughout the week, residents and visitors walked through or drove past the field, remembering the lives lost and reflecting on the courage of first responders, the service of our military, and the extraordinary unity our country experienced following the attacks.
One of the most meaningful parts of the memorial is what has happened since.
Rather than allowing it to be a one-time event, the young people who founded the memorial intentionally passed its leadership to other local youth. Brothers Steven and Tyler Cenci took responsibility for subsequent installations, including leading the memorial in 2024.
Now, as we commemorate the 25th anniversary of September 11, another generation is stepping forward. Kelly Cenci, a Cranbury Girl Scout, and Sammy Kenavey, a member of Boy Scout Troop 52, are leading this year’s effort. Both are students at Princeton High School.
It is interesting to see where the original founders and subsequent leaders are today. Tess Staples is now a senior at Stevens Institute of Technology. Gavin and Donovan Mavoides are seniors at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Tyler Cenci is a sophomore at the Florida Institute of Technology, and Steven Cenci is beginning his freshman year at Purdue University.
Five years after three 16-year-olds first placed those flags in Heritage Park, the memorial has become a Cranbury tradition with a particularly meaningful purpose: one generation of young people passing the responsibility of remembrance to the next.
More than 25 volunteers gathered in Heritage Park this year to once again install the 2,977 American flags.
We hope the memorial provides an opportunity to remember the 2,977 lives lost, honor the bravery and sacrifice of first responders and military personnel, and reflect upon the spirit of service, patriotism, and unity that emerged during one of the most difficult moments in our nation’s history.
We are especially proud that Cranbury’s young people continue to take responsibility for keeping that memory alive.
Kindly,
Susan Mavoides
