NORTH PORT — After the 9/11 attacks, Billy McGehee found himself recalling the first time he saw the World Trade Center buildings in New York.

“I went to (Louisiana State University) and I wanted to play professional tennis. I went to New York City and the first stop was the World Trade Center. I looked up and thought, ‘They don’t make anything like this in the bayou.’”

His memory prompted him to found Athletes for America, a group with goals to promote emergency-preparedness nights and motivate athletes at all levels, and fans as well, to receive some emergency training and become certified to assist emergency responders. For the next year, he will travel the nation in a donated patriotic tour bus, drumming up support for his cause. He made a stop in North Port on Tuesday morning.

McGehee is no stranger to the sports world. He is past president and CEO of the Tampa Bay Lightning and St. Pete Times Forum, served on the NHL’s board of governors, and is one of the founding members of the team that established the Arena Football League’s Orlando Predators, according to the AFA website. He has also completed Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT, training.

He said one thing that bothered him in watching coverage of disasters were the people standing there saying they didn’t know what to do. Simple training could enable them to save the lives of others, or perhaps even their own. He thought the best way to encourage this was by reaching out to athletes — “there’s no reason why every girl and guy who steps on a playing field doesn’t know life-saving skills” — and coaches, as well as sports fans.

“Especially when you look at the numbers of people who go to sporting events,” he said. “We want to recruit the top names — Tiger Woods, Kurt Warner. You could save the life of your mother or father ... and if you save one person’s life, that person could save the world.”

McGehee, who lives in Fort Myers, started his day Tuesday in Charlotte County. Following his stop in North Port, Fire Marshal Michael Frantz said that a city Fire Rescue engine would guide the bus to its next stop as far as Laurel Road, where the Nokomis and Sarasota County fire departments would take over.

Arriving in North Port at Fire Station 81 near City Hall, McGehee spent time greeting firefighters — he called them “America’s team” — and telling them a little bit about the program and its goals.

“We can at least make sure people are trained so they can help save a life before you all get there,” he said.

McGehee also presented Fire Chief Bill Taaffe with a plaque in recognition of North Port’s participation.

“It’s really a broad-based idea,” said Deputy Fire Chief Scott Titus, who helped organize the visit, adding that he received the information about AFA in an e-mail and then contacted the organization. “It stresses the importance of CPR, CERT and emergency preparedness, which is everything we do. ... Firefighters and the military are trained athletes, too.”

McGehee hopes to secure promises from coaches and athletic directors to have their players receive emergency-response training. West Point has already committed to the plan.

He will do most of the driving himself, although he will be accompanied by a friend and, occasionally, by his wife, Pamela. Sponsors will help fund the trip.

He intends to visit college and professional football games over the next few months, including the BCS Championship game and the Super Bowl, as well as the Daytona 500, March Madness, the Masters, the Kentucky Derby and more, all leading up to the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, at the memorial in New York City in 2011.

For more information, including a listing of where McGehee will be appearing, visit www.teamafa.com.

E-mail: annek@sun-herald.com