PALM COAST, Fla. (October 15, 2022) – The month of October is about a number of important causes, among them the breast cancer awareness. Continuing the campaign with a little rock and roll, professional women from across Flagler County came together for the annual ‘Pat & Pink: A Salute to Women’ show on Saturday evening at the Flagler Auditorium in Palm Coast.
Dressed to impress in pink ranging from hot pink to pastel, it was a stand out crowd, all in support of a singular cause.
“It is important to have awareness. I love this cause, I love it because my sister is a cancer survivor and we’re very passionate about Pink,” said Boss Ladies co-founder Ana Reyes-Ouzts.
Flagler Auditorium Director Amelia Fulmer welcomed the Boss Ladies, even creating a special promotional code for patrons to use for a discount.
“It’s extremely important not just because of the shows we put into the community but to make people feel supported in the community in the things that they go through,” said Fulmer.
“I lost my husband to cancer eight years ago and there’s been so many women in our lives and so many of our friends and relatives that have been through breast cancer, and this is just another way to show support.”
“We reached out to the Boss Ladies because they raise money in the community all year long, they give to different charities every month, so when we reached out to them they said that would be great,” she said.
The Flagler Auditorium’s support extends to the AdventHealth Palm Coast Foundation, providing a portion of the evening’s proceeds to the Pink Army’s effort.
On hand to thank attendees, Tony Papandrea, chairman of the foundation’s board of directors shared a hope of finding a cure before his own young granddaughters grow up. Papandrea’s wife Dottie battled the deadly disease and as a survivor, he speaks out about finding a cure and regular screenings after her experience.
“It’s amazing that we can have the Pink and Pat Benatar tribute show here to entertain on support of breast cancer awareness,” he said. “As I said up on the stage, a cure would be better and that’s what we’re after.”
Representatives from the United Way’s Women United Flagler Chapter were on hand to raise funds for the annual holiday #TeamFeedFlagler Thanksgiving drive, underway for the next two weeks at area Publix stores, while the Professional Women of Flagler County shared information and Highjackers Restaurant sold $10 commemorative flamingos and flowers in honor of loved ones, survivors or angels.
“We’ve been supporting breast cancer (awareness) for the past 15 years,” said Lisa Setien, general manager of Highjackers. “We support the community in so many ways every year and we came out today to support this show.”
Selling the flamingos to create a reflective garden for the month of October, Setien supported server Mo Nobles when she created the concept.
“It has really taken off. We used to sell t-shirts that said ‘Save the Twins’ and when Mo came up with this idea we ran with it. It’s been great,” she said.
Gathering with members from the Cornerstone Center Business Development, Kim Sunshine chatted with her group before heading in to enjoy the Pat Benatar and Pink tribute show.
“One of the most exciting things we can do as women is support one another in our businesses and in our events like this that bring women together,” said Sunshine. “We have a huge representation of ladies here today and we’re just real excited to be a part of everything going on.”
