In the attack on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, Chris Connors lost his brother, Kevin, and many friends. Not long after, he gave up his job as a bond trader for an investment bank in New York and moved to Maine.

Chris Connors, a former New York City bond trader, came to York 15 years ago, just months before the Sept. 11 tragedy when he lost his brother and many friends. In 2003, the longtime boater was looking for a way to support his new hometown and donated a rescue boat to the York Village Fire Department, launching the department’s search-and-rescue team. Connors, who has been voted an honorary member of the department by members as a thanks for his support, has been diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and pancreatic cancer.