Thursday March 28th, 2024 2:05PM

$90k and counting raised as Northeast Georgia goes red for women's heart health

A sea of women in red dresses, suits and accessories and men sporting red shirts and ties opened their hearts and pocketbooks to raise about $90,000 for women's heart health at the Northeast Georgia Go Red For Women luncheon and wellness expo.

Friday was deemed National Wear Red day by the American Heart Association, as part of their annual Go Red month to raise awareness and funds for heart disease research, specifically for women.

Wofford recognized that women face a lot of struggles, from being the only female executive in a board room to health issues, like how heart disease kills more women each year than all types of cancer combined. She urged the women in the room to take action in their lives and described some of the riskier situations she had been while working in television. For example, the Thai mafia shot at Wofford and her crews while she was filming on an island in Thailand. She went to the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok for counsel.

"The CIA agent told me, 'Look, it's illegal and I can't tell you to pay off the Thai mafia, but if you don't pay them off your problems are not going to go away.' He said 'they want cash, you have cash.' And we had a problem. The problem was they were shooting at our crew. I had to do something. So I did the next best thing... which was to hire them."
 
Wofford said they exchanged a fair wage in exchange for the mafia members to clear the beach every night so it would be ready for filming the next day. "You cannot imagine - or maybe you can - what washes up on the beaches around the world every night. But they cleaned those beaches. And then they started sharing our dinners, our lunches, our breakfasts. The became our friends and they became our protectors. The risk we took in selecting a remote island, despite the clear and quite convincing argument the Thai mafia made otherwise, that risk gets us nowhere if we aren't willing to take action and work really hard to achieve success."

Wofford, a Gainesville native and graduate of Gainesville High School, traveled from Los Angeles to share with her hometown why taking risks, especially for your health, was so important.

"Cardiovascular disease kills more women than all forms of cancer combined. That statistic is shocking to me. When I first heard that I couldn't believe it. I actually did research to confirm it. And that moves me," said Wofford. "I think a lot of women, and a lot of men, don't realize how much cardiovascular disease affects us and affects our families and our friends."

After imploring attendees to take risks for their health and to set an example to the next generation, Wofford shared some statistics. 

Following Wofford, another famous local took the stage to talk about her experiences with heart health. Dr. Martha Nesbit shared how she discovered a leaky heart valve through pericarditis and quickly had to move forward with surgery.

Nesbit, the former president of then-Gainesville State College, described herself as physically active, aware of her diet and nutrition and in excellent health throughout her whole life.

"The lessons learned from my experience: number one, my surgery was surgery was made easier, according to the doctor, because I was physically fit; number two, I paid attention to my pain and saw a doctor; number three, I follow doctor's orders and keep my regularly scheduled appointments with my cardiologists and my internist; I continue to follow healthy practices with diet, healthy exercise, and sufficient sleep. And while that doesn't guarantee a longer life, I truly feel well and healthy."

"Martha is fit as a fiddle, if it can happen to her, it can happen to me," said co-chair Lydia Sartain after Nesbit's speech.

A silent auction was held ahead of the sit-down lunch, and after attendees had dessert another round of fundraising began. Pledge cards were filled out and donor received light up bracelets; whole table donations were sprinkled with confetti. A new group of donors, Heart Throbs, was recognized this year. Heart Throbs is comprised of male donors who personally donated over $1,000 and is a counterpart to Circle of Red that features women who personally donate $1,000 or more each year.

As the event wrapped up, total fundraising reached about $90,000.

  • Associated Categories: Local/State News
  • Associated Tags: Northeast Georgia Go Red for Women, Go Red, heart disease
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