Media Center :: Press Releases

For more information:                                                                                              November 10, 2009

Alex Cruz, Communications Director

Office    305-668-5994 or 202-225-3931

Cellular 202-225-8200 or 202-225-4630

 

 

Miami, Florida ---- Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a senior member of the Florida Congressional Delegation, along with Southwest Senior High School, will host Shannon Melendi Safety Day at 9:30 AM this Thursday, November 12^th to reinforce safety awareness for high school students so that they can be alert to possible dangers around them. Southwest is Ileana and Shannon’s alma mater. Ileana will then host a press conference at her Miami Congressional Office at 12 Noon to announce the kick-off of a petition drive to keep Shannon’s killer in jail (he is up for parole in 2011).

 

At Southwest Senior High, Ros-Lehtinen will introduce the Shannon Melendi story to the students with the help of “Forensic Files” and “48 Hours” television clips, and Shannon’s parents, sister, and home video.  Shannon’s high school coach and mentor will give a powerful message: “Don’t Be Prey!  Think Safety!”  Community leaders will also attend, including Superintendent of Schools Alberto Carvalho and School Board Member Dr. Marta Perez.

 

Luis Melendi, Shannon’s father, is a portraits photographer who makes it a point to speak to as many young people as he can -- about what happened to his daughter, Shannon, and about safety.  Shannon was a new student at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, just 19 years old, working as a scorekeeper at a youth baseball game when she disappeared around 12 noon one fine Saturday.  Luis says, “It could happen to anybody”. 

 

Shannon’s case is well-known on television with 48 Hours, Forensic Files, America’s Most Wanted, and The Investigators, to name a few.  Shannon dreamed of being a US Navy JAG Corps attorney and then to serve as a Justice on the United States Supreme Court.

 

 

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