ORLANDO, Fla. — The city of Orlando began discussions Wednesday on how the city will move forward with creating a Pulse memorial and honoring the lives lost in the shooting.

What You Need To Know

  • The 18-member Pulse Memorial Advisory Committee met in the first of two meetings this week

  • Skepticism remained following the dissolution of the onePULSE Foundation, but many were ready to put the past behind them and get the ball rolling

  • The second Pulse Memorial Advisory Committee Meeting is set to take place Thursday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Kia Center

The 18-member Pulse Memorial Advisory Committee met in the first of two meetings this week, and while some pain and skepticism filled the room, many felt they were ready to put the past behind them and get the ball rolling on a permanent memorial.

“Frankly, I am to the point where I just want to get this memorial done,” said survivor Keinon Carter ahead of the meeting. “We need to stop the back and forth.”

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer has set a goal to have a new memorial in place before the 10-year mark of the shooting.

“You are not going to make everyone happy,” Carter says. “Everybody is not going to be happy.”

Making sure the meeting could provide committee members a place to heal was top of mind for Dr. Larry Schooler, who is overseeing the project.

“I think of my responsibility as making you feel seen and making you feel heard,” said Schooler. “I’ve heard many times that Pulse represented a sanctuary, a safe haven, for people to be who they wanted to be. To be honest, that’s what I aspire for our committee to be.”

During an introductory exercise, members wrote down one word to describe how they were feeling on a notepad prior to starting their work.

Skepticism remained following the dissolution of the onePULSE Foundation, whose efforts to create a memorial never came to fruition. But some committee members like Tommy Connelly say they have a better feeling about how things are going to pan out this time around.

“Their lives were stolen and in terms of memorial of them that was stolen too,” said Connelly. “Its time to give them their memorial.”

Being a voice for family members and mothers who weren’t selected to be on the committee is what members like Nancy Rosado say they will focus her attention on.

“For me, it’s the wishes and the will of family members and mothers that will be the driving force,” said Rosado. “Survivors (will) be the supporting force behind it.”

Rosado says ultimately she hopes the city follows through on what the committee recommends following the meetings.

Many of those who were not selected to be on the committee watched from the sidelines, with frustration lingering about the selection process.

“It was very demoralizing for me to even have to apply,” said Christine Leinonen, who lost her son and has been advocating for a memorial for years says. “Asking me for what my experience was that entitles me to be on a committee?”

Darelis Torres, another survivor who was not picked and now lives in Indianapolis, also expressed disappointment.

“I think they need to step up and give up the seats to one of the eight families that applied,” said Torres. “It’s the families who don’t have a say for what’s going to happen to their children now in this memorial that should.”

The second Pulse Memorial Advisory Committee Meeting is set to take place Thursday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Kia Center.

There will be an open house following the meeting from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. to allow for community input and exchange.

Dyer said his goal is to have the memorial completed by June 2026, marking 10 years since the terror shooting by Omar Mateen.