The Garland Club of the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc. (NANBPWC) held its annual “Go Red for Healthy Heart” program Feb. 16.
Attendees gathered at 10 a.m., all dressed in red, at the fellowship hall of the Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church of Garland.
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The room was decorated with red balloons and other red heart décor. Garland club founder, Ruby Armstrong, chaired the event and member Patsy Pritchett gave opening remarks and introduced the guest speaker.
Before the speaker presentation, guests went through a buffet line of delicious breakfast food and beverages then reassembled for a “heart-wrenching, sister-to-sister” type speech from Dee Baker Amos, vice president of Health Strategies with the American Heart Association. She electrified the audience with stories of her life growing up and every woman in the room identified with her experiences.
She shared stories of strong African-American women that shaped her life and the pitfalls that we, as black females, too often fall into. Why? Amos explained it had to do with a “theme” she chose to deal with this year. That theme is “the failure to put ourselves on our own to-do list.” She followed this revealing failure with the fact that IF we don’t begin to care for our own health, we will not be around to care for the well-being of our families.
Valuable statistics were shared by the speaker and material on the following subjects was distributed to every woman in attendance.
• Heart Disease in African-American
• The Truth About High Blood Pressure
• Know the Facts About High Blood Pressure
• Risk Factors for Stroke
• Stroke, TIA and Warning Signs
• Be a Stroke Hero
• Know Your Numbers
• Want to Quit Smoking?
• E-Cigarette Side Effects and Comparison
The Garland NANBPW Club will host its annual Founders’ Day Celebration April 13 at the Hyatt Place Hotel, 5101 President George Bush Highway in Garland. The silent auction will begin at 11 a.m. followed by the program at 11:30 a.m. The Garland club is led by President Wathenia Clark, a Life Member of the Association and the Recording Secretary for the South Central District of the NANBPWC. The local group provides valuable annual programs in the Garland community.
For more information on the NANBPWC, INC. Garland Club, visit their Facebook page.
Photos provided by Gwendolyn H. Daniels.