Learn How the 2014 Jackson Heart Ball Exceeded My Expectations

“DO SOMETHING GOOD EVERY DAY: Try to do one good thing for yourself every day. You’re Heart and you Life will thank you.”

“When in doubt WEAR RED” –Bill Blass #MacysGoesRed #GoRedforWomen 

Also see the link below from the Lifestyles section of VIP Jackson Magazine online; January 29, 2013 for an article abut the organizers of the 36th annual Jackson Heart Ball:

http://www.vipjacksonmag.com/article/20140130/FEAT/301300024/Jackson-Heart-Ball-good-time-good-cause

February 2014 marks the 50^th Anniversary of American Heart Month. On, Friday, January 31^st, my husband and I attended Mississippi’s 2014 Jackson Heart Ball. The Heart Ball is Mississippi’s major fundraising event for the American Heart Association, which also kicks of the month of February and American Heart Month as Mississippians campaign for and raise funds for the American Heart Association. As Mrs. Mississippi International 2014, I was honored to have the chance to be among the patrons and sponsors at who gathered at the Jackson Country Club to promote Heart Disease Awareness and Go Red for Women. Heart Disease is still the #1 Killer among women (according to www.heart.org).  

We were graciously welcomed by Metro Jackson Heart Association staff and volunteers, who quickly registered us inside the Jackson Country Club Lobby, gave us our lovely Heart Ball program books, and informed us about the night’s scheduled events. I enjoyed taking photos with my husband and with Heart Association Staff for the Heart Ball Facebook page, Jackson’s VIP Magazine, and other Mississippi magazines— walking the AHA “Red Carpet” as photographer after photographer took our pictures in different areas of the Country Club.

    

        I met with Liz Young, Youth Market Director for the American Heart Association in Mississippi as Liz and her husband, Brad, took my husband and me on a tour of the 15 pieces in the Art in the Heart Gallery that were sold during the Dinner Program’s Live Auction. Liz and I had an in-depth conversation about the influence her work with Mississippi’s junior high and high school students, promoting CPR training and certification, healthy eating, and physical education programs in our state’s public and private schools. We arranged to work together, with her pull from the MS Heart Association and my assistance as Mrs. Mississippi International 2014 to reach out to the schools and the MS hospitals that Liz has not yet been able to speak with in MS. My husband and I took a photo with Liz and her husband to celebrate the Heart Ball and American Heart Month that I will post on my Facebook page and blog once it is made available to me. I also enjoyed meeting Elizabeth Williams, Health Strategies Assistant for the Metro Jackson Heart Association, who I have spoken with many times over the phone leading up to the Heart Ball. Elizabeth was very interested in the Mrs. International Pageant’s patronage of the AHA Go Red for Women. Elizabeth and her husband were 2 of the 10 Mississippians who recently traveled in late January to our nation’s capitol to advocate for the AHA You’re the Cure program.

                                      

                                       A cute "selfie" of my husband Danny and me

                

        When I glanced at my cell phone as my husband and I prepared to leave the Heart Ball, I noticed that earlier in the night I had received an email from the 10 Mississippi Advocates who worked so diligently for the American Heart Association’s You’re the Cure-Take Action Advocacy Agenda in our nation’s capital. I was excited to quickly browse through the email because I attentively followed the AHA You’re the Cure Advocates in Washington D.C. and encouraged their efforts (along with 4,800 other advocates around the US) by sending personalized AHA messages urging state and federal elected officials to support the 2014 AHA You’re the Cure agenda.

       We enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Heart Ball and watched in awe as the Live Art Auction sold 15 pieces of art for over $50,000 for the AHA. My beautiful red gown sponsored by Classy Closet in Eupora, Mississippi, along with my stunning Mrs. Mississippi International 2014 sash, led to opportunities such as these to speak, not only to Metro Jackson Heart Association Staff, but also to so many other Heart Ball patrons and sponsors about the role of our International Pageant family in our support of Go Red for Women, the American Heart Association, and the Fight Against Heart Disease and Stroke.

                                                            

                                                                    Scene from the Live Auction

                     

The Heart Balls agenda included:

·         The Red Room Mini Live Auction

·         The Heart Ball Silent Auction

·         The Red Room Seated Dinner Program

·         The Richard Lee Miller Heart Saver Award-presented to the 2014 Heart Saver Award Recipient, Chloe Sumrall- a Freshman at the University of MS, who because of her CPR Certification, literally saved the life of Fred Cayia, when he suffered Sudden Cardiac Death, a condition in Mississippi that has less than a 2% chance survival rate

·         The Live Auction of an exotic vacation in Mexico, along with Watercolor Prints, Oil Paintings, Abstract Figurines, and Abstract, Landscape, and Realist Canvases that together raised approximately $60,000

·         The Open Your Heart Live Donations from attendees

     -donations ranged from $250-$5,000

·         The Coop D’ Belle After Dinner Dance and Entertainment

            

-Each Day is a Gift

-Conquer Chronic Pain with Compassion, Understanding, and Knowledge

-Continue the Fight Against Heart Disease and Stroke

Jeremiah 29: 11-13

Be Brave,

Angie Russell Irvin

Mrs. Mississippi International 2014

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