Terry & Amy Stinehelfer
Mariah, Mark, Pamela & Bethany Tisza
Denise Kendust & Faye Toler
Vicki Tarro & Denise Baxter
I
t is always a battle when cancer threatens
a person or a family’s stability. There are
some who can say they stood up to cancer
and won the battle. The event “Stand
Up To Breast Cancer,” sponsored by the Fort
Walton Beach Medical Center, Twin Cities
Hospital, Fort Walton Beach Chamber, and
NWF Daily News was held at the Emerald
Coast Convention Center on October 23. The
event showcased resilient individuals who
were determined to win the fi ght against breast
cancer. Nineteen females and one male were
among those that were called up that evening.
The evening’s keynote speaker was Ms. Lori
Allen from the hit TV show Say Yes To The
Dress. Lori gave the audience an inside look on
her life from the start of her career, opening her
bridal parlor three weeks after she graduated
from college, to beating cancer. Lori expressed
how important women’s health and breast
cancer awareness was to her as a survivor. “It
was very diffi cult to wrap my head around
cancer,” Ms. Allen said. She didn’t want to
tell anybody, not even her family. She had to
process it all. From being angry with the illness
to getting scared and ultimately relying on her
faith as a Christian was what helped her in her
journey; and if sharing her story with others
gives them strength, courage, and hope to stand
up to breast cancer, she would gladly do it
every time.
photos & story by
Zhalman Harris
Chelsea Sesody & Jana Allen
VIP Destin at the Emerald Coast Convention Center
STAND
up
TO BREAST CANCER
90 | VIPDestinMagazine.com
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