"Everyday people are capable of extraordinary acts." That's the message Heather "Lucky" Penney delivered to a captivated audience at the Women Hoteliers Session & Luncheon. Penney, the first and only woman in the 121st Fighter Squadron, recounted her story of being in the D.C. National Guard on Sept. 11, 2001.
Penney said what she learned on that "gorgeous, terrible day" was how to be inspired by the ordinary heroes. While Penney and her fellow airmen were in the sky responding to the attack on the United States and ready to make the ultimate sacrifice, they didn't have to in the end because of others who stepped up. On 9/11, she said, it was the passengers on Flight 93, which crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after they overpowered the plane's attackers, and the people in the towers who inspire her.
"There are things in this world that are more important than ourselves," Penney said. "Having a clear mission and purpose in life helps us rise above the limits we set for ourselves and the distractions that creep in each day. But don't wait for a crisis to figure out what's really important in life. Know what your priorities are now, so you're ready when that moment comes."