The Opelousas General Health System Foundation hosted its 16th Annual Pink Bag Luncheon on Friday, October 20th.
Evangeline Downs Event Center was beautifully decorated as the venue for the Pink Bag Luncheon and Style Show. The luncheon serves to honor breast cancer survivors and recognizes local businesses, organizations and schools who participated in the Paint the Town Pink Competition activities. A Style Show is also represented by breast cancer survivors while being celebrated by friends, family and guests as they graced the runway modeling JCPenney fashions.
Paint the Town Pink is a breast cancer awareness and fundraising initiative. The theme this year for Paint the Town Pink was “Bee-lieve in a Cure!” which has been visibly portrayed by the many businesses around Opelousas. Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center was the Title Sponsor and Catalyst Bank was the Presenting Sponsor for this year’s Pink Bag Luncheon.
Tracey Neldare was the guest speaker and she shared her powerful story of her wisdom and faith as she endured the darkest moments of her life. Tracey was diagnosed with stage 3, triple-negative breast cancer in 2020. She credits her faith, family and friends for getting her through it. She emphasized that early detection and screening are a crucial part of increasing chances of survival. Tracey has been cancer-free now for 3 years. Her testimony of her faith and the will to beat breast cancer was truly inspiring and an empowering message to keep fighting.
PTTP participants were among the many guests who were in attendance. During the luncheon the “Pinkest” business and school decorating contest winners were announced.
The ‘Pinkest Small Business’ was awarded to St. Landry Chamber of Commerce.
The ‘Pinkest Large Business’ was awarded to J.M. Morrow Memorial Nursing Home
Port Barre High School was the recipient for the Pinkest School.
Two awards were presented for the Be Our Support Bra decorating contest. GFWC/LA Melville Women’s Club received the Judge’s Award for their “Free as a Butterfly” submission. Sue McClelland with Dupre Carrier Godchaux Insurance Agency won the People’s Choice Award with her “Don’t Stop Bee-Lievin’ bra submission.
“We are making a difference by providing free education and mammograms to women and men who are uninsured or underinsured in our community. St. Landry Parish is above the national average for mammography screenings due to availability and access to annual screenings and testing provided by PTTP. ”
