BATON ROUGE — The Capital Area United Way held its annual Power of Women event, putting the spotlight on women across the greater Baton Rouge region who use their talents to empower others and create opportunity.

The event featured a presentation by Army veteran and former Miss USA Deshauna Barber-Echols, the first active duty soldier to win that title.

"You know, like I was saying on stage, the world can feel very heavy and I think that sometimes we have to be reminded of each other's humanity," Barber-Echols said. "Sometimes we have to be reminded of how important it is for us to have relationships with one another, making sure that we're using each other as a shoulder to lean on."

The luncheon also included the Woman of Inspiration Award, which recognizes women who set the benchmark for community impact.

Meg Mahoney, the public and government affairs manager at ExxonMobil, was honored with the award.