9/11 25th Anniversary Remembrance: #5 – Sharon Balkcom
By Steve Wilson // September 7, 2026
Balkcom worked in the North Tower at the World Trade Center in New York City
Sharon Balkcom (pictured) tragically was killed on 9/11 while working in the North Tower at the World Trade Center in New York City. (Image: legacy.com)
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – In remembrance of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the Friday Night Locker Room’s Steve Wilson randomly selected 25 people that were killed on that tragic day. Space Coast Daily will release one story per day leading up to September 11, 2026. Today’s story is about Sharon Balckom who was killed on 9/11 while working in the North Tower at the World Trade Center in New York City. Story courtesy of legacy.com.
#5 Sharon Balkcom raised on the scrappy streets of East Harlem, was in the third grade when her teachers realized that she had a gift for mathematics, said her mother, Rosalie, who was not surprised.
Ms. Balkcom, 43, the second of three children, attended some of the city’s most rigorous and selective secondary schools: Robert F. Wagner Middle School on the Upper West Side and the Bronx High School of Science. She received an M.B.A. from Pace University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Colgate University.
Ms. Balkcom’s academic aptitude and varied education prepared her to tackle most jobs. She was a computer systems manager at Marsh & McLennan, where she had worked for about three years, her mother said. “She was motivated,” said her brother Gordon, a publicist. “Whereas I might need someone to kick-start me, she was self-motivated.”
As a child, that motivation helped Ms. Balkcom, a resident of White Plains, overcome teasing from neighborhood children about being a bookworm. “She held her head up and continued to do what was right,” Mrs. Balkcom said. “My husband and I brought our children up the best we could. We tried to instill in them the importance of having an education. We taught them that things were not handed to them. If they wanted something, they had to work hard to get it.”
This article is sponsored by Erdman Automotive and Craig Technologies.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Steve Wilson was born in DeRidder, Louisiana and grew up in both New Orleans and Macon, Georgia. He moved to Brevard County in 1984 and retired from local government as the Community Advocate/Assistant to the City Manager with the City of Rockledge in 2018.
Among the awards and accolades Steve has received over the years are 15 + year Rockledge Little League volunteer, Brevard Public School Jefferson Award Recipient, Rockledge High School Raider Booster Award 2001, 2006, City of Rockledge Employee of the Year 2006, Rockledge Kiwanian of the Year 2006-2007, City of Rockledge Quality Public Service Award 2008, 2012, 2017, Rockledge Kiwanis Citizen of the Year 2012-2013, Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame – Sportscasting 2015, Rockledge High School Leadership and Service Award 2016, Central Florida Humanitarian Award 2017, Space Coast Inspiration Award – 2018, Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame – Lifetime Achievement – 2020, Ecofest Achievement Award – 2022, Quality Floridian Award – 2022, presented by U.S. Congressman Bill Posey, Florida House District 32 Constituent of the Week 4/20/25.
Wilson is especially proud of his chairing two fundraisers in support of pediatric cancer research through the St. Baldrick’s Foundation in honor of Merritt Island resident Julie Spurlock that raised over $25,000.00.
He has been a partner, along with Orville Susong, for the past 27 years with the Friday Night Locker Room, a broadcasting team that covers and reports on a wide variety of local events that are of significance to the residents of the Space Coast and beyond. Their mission is to promote youth sports, support first responders and law enforcement personnel, and showcase community and charitable events that are produced by our nonprofit partners in central Florida.
The Friday Night Locker Room has awarded hundreds of sports achievement plaques to Brevard County student-athletes over the years. They have also awarded more than $18,000 in academic scholarships to Brevard County high school seniors.
