Star Jones, the former lawyer and legal analyst who's probably best known as a former co-host of the daytime talk show The View, was the keynote speaker at the Go Red for Women Luncheon on May 7 in the Little Rock Marriott Ballroom.
Jones now serves as a national volunteer for the American Heart Association and used her personal diagnoses and story of heart disease to encourage the crowd, mostly dressed in red, to make their own heart health a priority.
Before the luncheon, which did include a few men, guests could bid in a "purse-onality" silent auction, have fun in a photo booth with red props, have their nails done and learn about heart health.
Dawn Scott and Becky Rogers served as co-hosts of the program, which included event chairman Elizabeth Banko explaining some of the heart disease statistics including that one in three women die from heart disease every year. She said a change to a healthier lifestyle can increase a person's life span.
Board member Diana Smithson invited the audience to become personally committed to the cause by making a donation to the Open Your Heart Campaign. The women of Alpha Kappa Alpha collected the pledge cards.
Eight heart disease survivors were also honored: Emily Daniels, Shana Durham, Ava Jane Head, Mary Neely, Sarah Orsborn, Haley Waller, Brenda Williams and Jozetta Williams.
-- Story and photos by Cary Jenkins
High Profile on 05/17/2015