Remembering A Boss Who Led A Team To Safety On Sept. 11

By NPR Staff

Published September 6, 2013 at 2:53 AM EDT

Connie Labetti, 52, was able to escape one of the World Trade Center buildings on Sept. 11, 2001, thanks to her boss, Ron Fazio.

Ronald Fazio, shown here with his daughter Lauren.

Connie Labetti worked on the 99th floor of the south tower — the second World Trade Center tower to be hit on Sept. 11, 2001.

She made it out of the building thanks to her boss, Ron Fazio. He, however, did not survive. Fazio was one of 176 Aon employees who died that day. He was 57.

"He's the reason I'm here, there's no question about it," 52-year-old Labetti says. "Most of us survived that day because of him."

Click the audio above to hear Labetti remembering how she made it out alive, with help from Fazio. His family started a nonprofit in his memory, Hold The Door For Others Inc. The organization empowers people to grow through any type of loss or adversity and achieve their dreams.

Audio produced for Morning Edition by Nadia Reiman. Since 2005, StoryCorps has partnered with the National September 11 Memorial and Museum to record one story for each life lost in the attacks.