"... For her hard work, dedication and bravery, Zechenelly was named one of Glamour magazine's Women of the Year.  She was one of six women involved with recovery efforts after Katrina who were honored with the award at a ceremony November 2 in New York City.  While there, Zechenelly, 35, met other honorees, actresses Catherine Zeta-Jones and Goldie Hawn and tennis star Venus Williams among them.

But Lauren Smith Brody, the senior editor at Glamour and coordinator of the Women of the Year program, said Zechenelly was a perfect choice for the award.

'We pick from women who are heroes to our readers, from the people that are courageous and inspiring, strong more than anything,' Smith Brody said.  'The one thing this amazing array of women has is strength, both emotional and physical.  These six heroes after Hurricane Katrina, they were experiencing the same problems as everyone else in the Gulf Coast area.  But they found the strength and fortitude to put aside their own difficulties to help others.  That's amazing, and that's what we want to represent.'

Others lauded for their efforts during the recovery period were Sara Faulkner, the only female rescue swimmer for the U.S. Coast Guard; Yamily Bass-Choate, an Episcopal priest in Mississippi; U.S. Army Pvt. Yakima Sanderlin; Dr. Cathi Fontenot, a physician at Charity and University hospitals in New Orleans; and local nurse Julie Newman..."

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