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Tampa’s ‘Ageless Beauty’ Appears In May 2015 Essence Magazine
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
If you get the May 2015 edi- tion of Essence Magazine, make sure you pay close at- tention to their “Ageless Beau- ties” feature.
No place else will you find a collection of African American women who father time has left alone. One of the ladies in the feature is from Hillsbor- ough County.
Winning out over thousands of entrants was Betty Brad- ford Byers. She was one of six women representing age brackets from 42 to 95. Ms. Byers represented the 71- year-old age bracket.
Already the author of six published books, Ms. Byers thanks her son for talking her into entering the contest.
“My son is a film director and photographer, and he told me about the contest. I told him I wasn’t interested at
first, because of all the entries I didn’t think I could win.
“But, he talked me into it, and I read the rules and qual- ifications. After that, I sent my information to the publishers of Essence Magazine, and three weeks later I was shocked to find out I had been selected as one of the six final- ists.”
Ms. Byers said her adven- ture didn’t start off well, be- cause of the weather in New York.
“We were supposed to be there for two days, but be- cause of the heavy snow, I wasn’t able to get a flight into Laguardia.
“When I arrived in New York, the temperature was 17 degrees. A car came to pick me up, and when I arrived at the place for the photo shoot, the other ladies were already there, getting their makeup done and selecting their out- fits.”
BETTY BRADFORD BYERS Ageless Beauty
Ms. Byers said she was taken into a room to select her jewelry and outfit, and the
shooting was an all day affair. “We each had a personal session that took an hour, then we did a collective shot
with all of us.
“We were housed in a
beautiful hotel in downtown New York, and everything was first class.”
Ms. Byers said they sat down with an interviewer who asked them what they did to maintain their youthful looks.
“We were all treated roy- ally. The next day, we were picked up, driven to the air- port, and I was on my way back to Tampa.
“We peeked during each other’s photo sessions, and I made some new friends and we all exchanged information on each other to sustain con- tact.”
Ms. Byers said all of them came from various back- grounds, but she felt all of the women were very beautiful.
“Some of them were pro-
fessionals and others were in other careers.
“I remember telling my son I wouldn’t be selected, espe- cially with the search being nationwide. I was just so over- joyed when I got the call, and the experience was something I’ll never forget.”
Ms. Byers said she’s a true Floridian, born in St. Cloud, Florida.
“What puzzled me was it was in the dead of winter and we were trying on summer clothes. I tried on three outfits before I settled on the one I was photographed in. I thought they did a great job.”
Ms. Byers said the lady who represented the 95-year- old bracket, Ms. Alberta Holt, was so spry and they all were very attractive.
“I’ve done modeling before, and I’ve always wanted to do a live photo shoot. That was on my bucket list, and now I can scratch it off.”
George Edgecomb Bar Association 32nd Annual Scholarship Banquet
Attorney Travis Coy, Carrie Walker-Williams, receiver of the Francisco Rodriguez Award, and Atty. Fentrice D. Driskell, President of GEBA.
In this photo are: Former GEBA presidents, Attorneys Thaxter Cooper and Clinton Paris; and Atty. Carolyn House-Stewart, Im- mediate Past International President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Michael Reeves and Attorney Delano Stewart.
Attorneys Susan E. Johnson-Velez, and Elita McMillian.
The late Honorable Judge George Edgecomb’s daughter and wife, Allison and Doretha Edge- comb.
Attorney Barbara Pittman and Attorney Nor- man Harris.
MONDAY, MAY 11, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 9