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Alumnus, father of Parkland, Florida school shooting victim, speaks about gun violence

October 24, 2019
by Angela Valden

On Feb. 14, 2018, Fred Guttenberg, a 1988 Թϱ graduate, lost a loved one to gun violence. His daughter, 17-year-old Jaime Guttenberg, was among the 17 victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Guttenberg now spends his time advocating for public safety and urging elected officials to address gun violence in the United States.

“We, together, need to decide this issue matters,” he told the students, faculty, staff and local community members who filled Թϱ’s Gannett Auditorium on Oct. 16.

As he makes his way to different engagements and into classrooms, “a lot of young people ask a really simple question: What can we do?” he said.

“Use your voice and your power to vote,” he tells them. “You have amazing voices. Use them.”

Fred Guttenberg presentation

Members of the Թϱ and broader communities filled Gannett Auditorium for the presentation by Fred Guttenberg '88.

Guttenberg engaged the audience by asking everyone to imagine losing someone they love to a sudden act of violence. He then recounted the last morning he saw Jaime, hurriedly rushing her and her brother out the door as they were running late for school.

“If you have people you love, don’t ever waste a second not telling them that. Because you just don’t know what’s coming next,” he said.

And with that, he did what he has done every day since losing his daughter: He remembered her and paid tribute to her.

“She was the energy in every room she went into,” Guttenberg recalled.

Jaime Guttenberg

Fred Guttenberg's presentation included a video tribute to his late daughter, Jaime.

The day after the shooting, Guttenberg attended a vigil for Jaime and the other victims of the Parkland attack and was asked to speak. In that moment, he found his new purpose in life. He has since found “faith in the amazing people” he has met on his journey.

Guttenberg now pursues strategies to enhance public safety, enact gun safety measures and honor his daughter through Orange Ribbons for Jaime, a nonprofit organization dedicated to Jaime’s life. He has also been working to enact Jaime’s Law, which aims to extend background checks to ammunition purchases.

Prior to establishing Orange Ribbons for Jaime, Guttenberg was an executive at Johnson & Johnson, an entrepreneur and owner of 19 Dunkin’ Donuts franchises. He graduated from Թϱ College in 1988 with a degree in management and business.

Guttenberg concluded his presentation by talking about finding the strength and resilience to overcome the darkest moments in life, particularly addressing the students in the room.

“In life, moments happen,” he said. “What ultimately dictates how you go through life isn’t the moment, it’s how you react and how you respond. What I’m doing today, responding to what happened to my daughter, is hopefully something that you can look at and say, ‘If that guy can get up and do this, then I know I can do anything.”

“I am looking to you to be this country’s future heroes and leaders.”

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