Saturday night’s third annual Mayor’s Charity Ball in Charleston was another outstanding event for the community.
One of the highlights was Mayor Sedrick Smith presenting an oversized ceremonial check in the amount of $2,000 to local American Cancer Society representative Ms. Fannie Morgan.
The ball serves as a benefit for the ACS. Proceeds from ticket sales to the event, which features a catered dinner, a formal program, live music and dancing, go to that very worthwhile organization which does so much to help people fighting that disease.
Fittingly, the half-dozen or so speakers on the program talked largely about health-related topics, including cancer, and what we as individuals can do to help improve our physical well-being while also reducing the risk of serious challenges to our health.
Charleston pharmacist Robert Salmon encouraged the crowd to start a conversation about a bevy of shared ills in the Delta region, citing facts and figures that were enlightening and, in many cases, alarming. Charleston Clinic Family Nurse Practitioner Yolanda Thompson followed that theme by citing many statistics about cancer and offering recommendations about what people should do to monitor their health, such as getting an annual wellness exam from a health care provider.
State Rep. Tommy Reynolds and Congressman Bennie Thompson both offered some remarks on the topic of the evening, praising the establishment of the James C. Kennedy Wellness Center on the Tallahatchie General Hospital campus and encouraging residents to utilize its vast array of resources.
Thompson joked that he hopes news of the Wellness Center here does not reach too many of his constituents in other 2nd District counties, because some of them would likely pressure him to find federal resources to help them construct their own similar facility. The Kennedy Wellness Center was largely privately financed.
Rev. Ricky Garvin provided the invocation, and Catherine Woodyard and Marvell Hudson were the “mistress of order” and “master of order,” respectively, for the program.
Woodyard, executive director of the Wellness Center, spoke at length about some of its many offerings and urged everyone to visit.
Percy Townes drew names for some Memphis Grizzlies door prizes, and the Oxford All-Stars Band performed.
The Mayor’s Charity Ball, held at the Charleston Middle School gym, proved to be a great evening, bringing together people from a cross-section of the community for the benefit of a wonderful cause.
Kudos to all involved.
