Saying he grew up in an era when “striving for excellence was expected,” Sullenberger told his audience, “We must keep on learning, stretching, re-inventing” ourselves.

“We must continue to innovate,” he said.

Sullenberger piloted US Airways Flight 1549 on Jan. 15, 2009, to a successful, emergency water landing in New York City’s Hudson River after the plane’s engines lost thrust shortly after takeoff, which followed a collision with a flock of geese. The plane remained intact and everyone was rescued.

The incident and how he handled it brought him national fame, but he told the audience that many people contributed to the successful outcome such as his crew and the emergency responders. That is true in most emergency situations, he said.

“There are many heroes who go unnoticed,” he said.

Sullenberger told The Pantagraph in an interview several weeks ago that “Each of us has a responsibility to prepare ourselves. When we do, we can have good outcomes. We can even save lives.”

“Leaders aren’t born,” he said. “They are, in fact, made. We can learn to be better at what we do.”

“When we work together according to our core values, we can make a difference,” Sullenberger said.

Also speaking Thursday night was David Sanderson of Charlotte, N.C., a passenger on Flight 1549. Sanderson described his experiences as a passenger and with the Red Cross, which provided assistance after the emergency landing.

“It’s a night to celebrate heroes,” Hruska said. “There are heroes in any disaster. They are the people who step in instead of stepping away.”

Proceeds from Evening of Stars benefit Red Cross disaster relief, assistance for military families, collection of blood and blood products and health and safety education.

Hruska said she was confident that the event would exceed its goal of raising $200,000.

Follow Paul Swiech on Twitter: @pg_swiech

———

©2016 The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Ill.)

Visit The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Ill.) at www.pantagraph.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.