This Friday, I was lucky enough to attend “Honoring the Promise” at the Kennedy Center. “Honoring the Promise” is an awards ceremony to pay tribute to those who work tirelessly to fight the battle against breast cancer. The event was hosted by Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the master of ceremonies was none other than Today personality, Hoda Kotb! I absolutely love Today so I was beyond excited to learn she was the MC for the night! Hoda was hilarious but also was serious about her own battle with breast cancer.One of her best lines of the evening: “When I learned I had breast cancer, I learned to hold onto the things I loved and get rid of the things I didn’t…I’m now divorced.” The audience had a good chuckle over her quip and then she told us how she was at a book signing and was approached by two teenage girls. They weren’t carrying copies of her book and she asked them if they had something else they wanted her to sign. Instead, they handed her a laminated piece of paper with the top ten reasons she should date their dad…Hoda then revealead she’s been dating their dad for almost a year now! I’m a hopeless romantic and I almost turned into a puddle of sappiness at that story. How absolutely adorable and heart warming is that story? It’s like something from a movie!
Back to the point, this event was able to honor those who have dedicated their life to finding a cure for breast cancer and helping women get the care and treatment they need to fight the battle. It was absolutely incredible how far science has come and how far we still have to go.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was given to former first lady Betty Ford posthumously and was accepted by her daughter, Susan Ford Bales. Ms. Bales gave a lovely speech about her mother’s courage in her decision to reveal her battle with breast cancer to the public a mere 6 weeks into her husband’s administration. At the time, cancer, particularly breast cancer, was a very taboo topic not discussed. Betty Ford allowed the media in to take pictures after her surgery and led to a surge in women across the country to go to their doctors to have a mammogram. Nancy Brinker, the founder of Susan G. Komen, shared a story how when the foundation was first starting, they had a fundraiser in Texas and she invited the former first lady on a whim. Betty Ford personally called her and not only lent her name to the fundraiser but also helped organize the fundraiser and garner support. Betty Ford was truly an unsung heroine in the fight against breast cancer, the Lifetime Achievement Award is now named in her honor.
The event closed on a high note with Howard University’s Afro Blues singing “Dancin’ in the Streets.” Other notable appearances were made by Jennifer Beals, Natasha Bedingfield, Wolf Blitzer, Donald Faison and Andrea Mitchell.
My camera decided to be a diva and not work that evening so I’m waiting on my friend to email me pictures of the night so stay tuned for a part two!
