Special to
L’Observateur

LUTCHER — St. James Parish Hospital recently hosted its annual Pink Ribbon Ladies’ Night Out at the St. James Parish Boat Club.

This year’s theme was “Ms. Pink Ribbon—Beauties Beating the Odds” and the sold-out venue was transformed into a pageant-scene complete with sequins, pearls and a few of the parish’s very own queens.

Ladies’ Night Out was an overwhelming success as over 700 women came for a night of sisterhood and lifesaving education.

Upon arrival, attendees were each given a custom bag imprinted with sponsor names, a pair of pink ribbon socks and fleece gloves and a women’s health planner gift set.

Survivors were directed to a V.I.P. table and were each given a small tiara so that attendees could easily spot those that battled the disease.

Attendees were treated to a mini health fair, which included several vendors promoting breast cancer education and offering resources to those affected by cancer.

St. James Parish Hospital’s Digital Radiology Department, Cancer Services of Baton Rouge, the American Cancer Society and the Komen for the Cure Foundation were among the participants.

Kassie Roussel, director of marketing, was next invited to the stage to discuss the Susan G. Komen Grant the hospital receives to help educate our community and offer women in the parish free breast screenings.  Donations from the event benefit this foundation and this year, Ladies’ Night Out helped raise over $2,400 for the Bayou Region Affiliate of the Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Seventy-five percent of this money stays in our community.

The survivor portion of the program began with an upbeat address by local survivor Ann Louque, who spoke about her battle through the disease and how it made her stronger.

Suzette Bowen, Motivational Speaker and Founder and CEO of Couples’ Care Center, discussed how to create positive outcomes out of painful life events. The night concluded as the audience and sponsors were thanked and reminded about ticket sales for next year.

Donating $3,000 and above included: Baton Rouge Radiology Group, Motiva and Mosaic. Donating $1,500 included Entergy, Peoples Health and Zephyr Anesthesia.