In a gripping climax Sunday evening that had everyone biting their nails up to the very last minute, CNN named Nepal social worker Pushpa Basnet its 2012 “Hero of the Year” over nine other admirable candidates, which includes Gilroy’s own Mary Cortani.
The Army veteran of 14 years and former Army Master Instructor of Canine Education made the elite pool of top 10 candidates for CNN’s “Hero of the Year.”
More than 50 friends gathered at Station 55 in downtown Gilroy Sunday to watch the live results show. The finale was taped at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, where Cortani was introduced by “Glee” actress Jane Lynch.
“This award is not about me,” said Cortani, addressing the audience. “It is about the men and women who so gallantly serve this country, and come home injured.”
Even though Gilroy’s candidate didn’t win, supporters including Station 55 co-owner Fran Beaudet still put Cortani on a pedestal.
“Mary is OUR hero,” said a smiling Beaudet, an old friend of Cortani’s who watched the CNN broadcast alongside everyone else.
Since its inception in 2007, “CNN Heroes” has received more than 45,000 submissions from more than 100 countries and profiled more than 180 heroes. Approximately 24 people were profiled by CNN this year.
That group was then whittled down to 10 people – and Cortani was one of them. People in the top 10 group were awarded $50,000 each, with the winner receiving an additional $250,000 grant.
Cortani is the director of an exponentially booming organization called Operation Freedoms Paws. Founded by Cortani in 2010, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit empowers wounded veterans and others with mental/or physical impairments to not only train their own service dogs, but ultimately function with the help of their service dogs at home and in society.
The program currently operates out of the large warehouse at 8425 Monterey St. (also occupied by the Gilroy Compassion Center), where Cortani spearheads a 32-week training regimen for human-dog teams.
Winner Pushpa Basnet was chosen as “Hero of the Year” through a nine-week public vote held on
CNN.com.
