Whiskey Co.'s Bravest Effort (9-11 Scholarship Fund)

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS ^ | January 10, 2007 | RICHARD WEIR

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Whiskey co.'s Bravest effort

BY RICHARD WEIR

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

In 212 years, not much has changed on the label of a Jim Beam bottle - except the occasional addition of a new name to a list of distillers that spans seven generations.

But the Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey has a new label in New York that pays tribute to the legacy of a fallen firefighter.

Replacing the time-honored red seal and Jim Beam family crest is a red firefighter's helmet emblazoned with "343" - the number of firefighters who died on Sept. 11, 2001. Next to the helmet, it reads: "Terry Farrell Firefighters Scholarship Fund."

Making this special-edition change involved a five-year effort by Farrell's brothers and a friend, Larry Romer, a former sales executive for the bourbon maker.

Romer was living in Chicago when he returned home to Long Island to visit his mom shortly after 9/11. While he was having a drink at R.P. McMurphy's Pub in Wantagh, he learned about the fund that proprietors Tim and Brian Farrell had formed to honor their brother, Terry, a father of two who died on 9/11 at 45.

"I didn't even know Terry had been killed," said Romer, 54, of Glen Cove. "I asked how much they had raised, and they said about $10,000. ... I said, 'I can help.'"

Romer persuaded his company, known for sponsoring rodeos, to help back the scholarship fund dedicated to Terry Farrell, a decorated member of the Fire Department's Rescue 4 in Woodside, Queens, and a former volunteer fire chief in Dix Hills.

But getting the commemorative label took a lot more arm-twisting.

"The Jim Beam label is precious," Romer said he was told. After getting shot down several times, Romer last May persuaded Jim Beam's bosses to get onboard.

"This is not just about Terry Farrell," he said. "It's about every firefighter in New York, every volunteer. This is who we are honoring."

Dennis Farrell, one of Terry's five brothers and a former Nassau County police lieutenant, said the fund has already raised $200,000 - $80,000 through Jim Beam's efforts.

All the money, he said, has gone to sons and daughters of firefighters and other causes, including providing lifesaving defibrillators to high school sports programs.

For those looking to contribute to the fund, the Doubletree Metropolitan Hotel and Jim Beam are hosting a cocktail night at the hotel's Met Lounge (569 Lexington Ave., at 51st St.) tomorrow from 5-8 p.m.

Proceeds from the sale of the lounge's discounted signature cocktails made with Jim Beam will go to the fund.

Originally published on January 10, 2007

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Terry Farrel Scholarship Fund link:

http://strongpointdesign.com/terry_farrell/poster.html

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In memory of Terry Farrell, FDNY...