The illustrious women of Gamma Eta Eta Chapter of the Chi Eta Phi Sorority communed together this past weekend to celebrate living healthier lives.
They gathered this past Saturday in the Mt. Pleasant Church Fellowship Hall in Clinton. The cause was their 6th Annual Women’s Heart Health Event which is dedicated to raising awareness and spreading information on promoting better women’s health.
The theme for this year was “Live Your Best Heart Healthy Life”.
“February marks the start of American Heart Month and during this month people around the world unite for one common goal, the eradication of heart disease and stroke,” Dr. Sabrina Pope said. “On this day people across the nation dawn purple to raise awareness on heart disease and stroke in women, the number one killer of women in the United States.”
“Heart disease is very personal to me because I lost my loving mother at a young age due to it,” she said. “So we are here today to provide you with a wealth of information to help you protect your heart, your daughters, your mother’s, your sisters heart and the list can go on an on.”
“With that said, we welcome you to the 6th Annual Women’s Heart Health event, “Live Your Best Heart Healthy Life”.
The event was opened up with that welcome given by Pope which was followed up with opening prayer from Donya Edwards. Dr. Angela Harding then provided a musical selection where she graced everyone in attendance with her beautiful rendition of Edwin Hawkins “Thank You Lord”.
Entertainment came next from the Everlasting Trinity Dance Ministry which consisted of both Edwards and Harding. They’d preform three times throughout the event. After each of their blessing filled dances the room would erupt with praise for the Lord and applause.
The wealth of information on heart disease in women came soon after from their keynote speaker Dr. Kimberly Grigsby-Sessoms. Grigsby-Sessoms graduated from the University of North Carolina At Chapel Hill School of Medicine in 1989. She works in Rose Hill, NC plus two other locations and is a Internal Medicine expert who’s been practicing medicine for over 30 years.
In her speech she covered a multitude of topic related to causes in women heart health issues and how to improve them. It covered everything from stress, to nutrition, bad eating or cooking habits, the importance of reading labels, genetics and inherited issues, being active and the list continues.
The event didn’t just consist of spreading information or awareness either, Sgt-At-Arms Harriett Bryant made sure of that. Her section of the program was next, titled Lets Move, and during it she got the whole room breathing heavy with some exercise activities.
There were also health stations present for guest to visit after the program which included blood pressure screenings, healthy eating tips, self-care journaling and hands on CPR Demonstrations. There was even door prize giveaways.
“I just want to thank everyone for attending our 6th annual Women’s Heart Health Event and being apart of it here today on a Saturday,” Chapter Vice-President Dr. Christy Swinson said in closing remarks. ” I also want to say thank you to Dr. Sessoms for taking time out of her busy schedule to come and share with us today. Also thank you to everyone that assisted with decorating, they did a magnificent job, the meal preparation, those at the different stations and just everyone that participated in this program. I just personally want to thank you and express my appreciation for all that you’ve done to make this event a success.”
Reach Michael B. Hardison at 910-249-4231. Follow us on Twitter at @SamsponInd, like us on Facebook, and check out our Instagram at @thesampsonindependent.
-survey-in-gorkha-2.tmb-1200v.jpg?sfvrsn=be6c5933_1){kind=small}