Colts Neck Filmmaker Michael Scotti Provides Q&A on Award-Winning Documentary
Red Bank, NJ (July 8, 2010) -The tragic events of September 11, 2001 will be remembered and the memory of Lincroft, New Jersey resident Beth A. Quigley, a victim of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, will be honored by a benefit screening of the award-winning documentary “Severe Clear” on September 11, 2010 at Red Bank’s Count Basie Theatre. Following the film, there will be a question and answer session with Colts Neck filmmaker and former Marine Corps First Lieutenant Michael Scotti. The event will benefit ReserveAid, the nonprofit organization dedicated to alleviating the emotional and financial burdens placed on the men and women called to active duty, by providing financial support to the service members and their families.
Beth A. Quigley was born in Red Bank and grew up in Lincroft, New Jersey. The daughter of Louella and Gene Quigley and only sibling of Suzanne Quigley Moore, Beth attended St. Leo the Great Elementary School and graduated from Red Bank Catholic High School in 1993. Before graduating from the College of the Holy Cross in 1997, she was recruited by Cantor-Fitzgerald. Beth worked as a NASDAQ trader on the 104th Floor of World Trade Center Tower One and was killed in the September 11 terrorist attacks, just two weeks shy of her 26th birthday.
The term “severe clear” is used by pilots to describe unlimited visibility conditions, typically occurring after a storm or heavy weather. September 11, 2001 was such a day. The 93-minute nonpolitical documentary “Severe Clear” is based on the journal notes of Marine Corps First Lieutenant Scotti, as well as video footage shot by him and other members of 1st Battalion, 4th Marines during the outset of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Scotti, who became friends with Beth Quigley while both were students at Red Bank Catholic High School, learned of Ms. Quigley’s untimely death as he was about to deploy to Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks. He carried her picture with him during his 2003 tour of duty in Iraq.
Filmmaker Scotti made an emotional connection between the loss of his friend Beth Quigley on September 11 and the military mission, and references Beth’s memory throughout the film. “The power of ‘Severe Clear’ is that it reflects what it feels like to be in combat, creating a shared experience between those who have been in battle and those who have not,” according to Scotti, one of Reserve Aid’s founding and current board members. “This is very powerful for the loved ones of veterans because that shared experience can help counter feelings of isolation that the veteran may be experiencing.”
“The upcoming benefit event will be a truly special evening in honor of a truly special person. It is an opportunity to honor the memory of Beth by helping our fighting men and women and their families who have been adversely affected by the war,” said Scotti. “By doing so, we are celebrating Beth’s life.”
Event chairperson Suzanne Quigley Moore adds, “My parents and I can think of no better way to honor my sister’s memory than to host this event on behalf of Reserve Aid on September 11, a National Day of Service and Remembrance. So many military men and women face financial and emotional hardships that often go unnoticed. Reserve Aid does a magnificent job of helping to ease their burdens and aiding them in the transition back to civilian life.”
The benefit event is underwritten by Suzanne Quigley Moore with media sponsorship by Brookdale Public Radio, 90.5 The NIGHT. All proceeds will go directly to ReserveAid, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. To make a donation in Beth Quigley’s memory please visit ReserveAid’s website www.reserveaid.org. Donations made prior to the event will be recognized on-screen before the film. Donations to ReserveAid are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
Theatre doors and cash bar open at 7 p.m. with the film screening beginning at 8 p.m. The film is rated R. Benefit tickets priced at $100, $75 and $50 are available at the Count Basie Theatre box office, 99 Monmouth Street, Red Bank, New Jersey and at the Count Basie Theatre website www.countbasietheatre.org. The box office telephone is 732.842.9000. For additional event information, please contact Michele McBride at mmcbride@wbjb.org or visit www.reserveaid.org and click on Events.
