MANATEE -- Manatee County's 9/11 anniversary memorial is underway at Sutton Park in Palmetto.

The "Tribute to Heroes' Memorial Service" started at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday and is being hosted by the Manatee County Fire Chiefs Association.

There will not be a luncheon this year accompanying the memorial service.

The event was moved from Rossi Waterfront Park location to Palmetto because of the construction going on at the Riverwalk. Next year, the service likely will be moved back to Bradenton.

Another memorial event took place Tuesday morning at the Manatee Technical Institute campus in Lakewood Ranch.

Several hundred students training to be first responders at the Lakewood Ranch campus of MTI received a simple challenge from retired New York firefighter Garrett Lindgren on Tuesday: "Are you ready?"

Lindgren said there is always a surprise for first responders who thought they had seen it all.

Terrorism, some of it homegrown such as the movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colo., is a fact of life.

Tim Hyden, training officer for East Manatee Fire Rescue, who coordinated Tuesday's observance, said a key is to make the remembrance meaningful for young people and future generations.

"It was 11 years ago today, at this hour. Most of us can recall the scenes being played out on live television , the images forever burned into our memories," Hyden said.

A remembrance at MTI's main campus in Bradenton will be followed by a blood drive, also spearheaded by the SkillsUSA members. The community is welcome to attend and encouraged to donate blood.