Page 20 - Florida Sentinel 10-21-16 Online Edition

Local
3rd Annual ‘Real Men Wear Pink’ Event Held
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On many occasions, plans are changed for reasons be- yond one’s control. And one of the reasons is often in- clement weather.
However, members of a local organization refused to allow the weather to alter their plans. And although Hurricane Matthew was a real concern, Sisters Network of Tampa Bay decided not to change their plans.
In keeping with this deci- sion, their Annual “Real Men Wear Pink” went on as planned on October 7th. And, Ms. Tonya Bascom, Chairman of the “Real Men Wear Pink” initiative said only one honoree was unable to attend the event because his flight was cancelled due to the threat of Hurricane Matthew.
The event was held at the Sheraton Tampa East Hotel, 10221 Princess Palm Avenue. Reverend Reginald Franklin, widower of the late Mrs. Sonia Franklin, delivered the keynote ad- dress.
The 2016 honorees are Willis Brinson, III, Kenneth Scott, Kelvin Walker, Rev. Reginald Franklin, keynote speaker, Derick Griffin, James Bess, Richard Hopkins, and Alonzo Jones. Robin Defreitas is not shown in the photograph.
Members of the commu- nity were given an opportu- nity to nominate a man the person felt was deserving of the honor.
The person submitting the name used things such as time, finances, emotional support, or other factors that helped a victim of breast can-
cer on the journey to recov- ery. Once the nominations were made, a committee read them and selected individu- als deserving of the honor.
The 2016 honorees of the
“Real Men Wear Pink”
recognition were James Bess, Willis Brinson, III, Robin Defreitas, Rev.
Reginald Franklin, Der- ick Griffin, Richard Hop- kins, Alonzo Jones, Kenneth Scott, and Kelvin Walker.
The purpose of the event is to bring awareness to breast cancer. The month of October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Three years ago, the first
“Real Men Wear Pink”
event was held as a way to ex- press gratitude to the men who provided support to their wives, mothers, sisters, or friends as she battled breast cancer. The late Mrs. Sonia Franklin, hosted the first event in March 2013.
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