Rachel Dove-Baldwin | Daily News The Wildwood Garden Club’s “Plant it Pink” garden located outside the Mingo County Courthouse was the location of one of the Breast Cancer Awareness Month kickoff events that took place within the county on Monday. The garden serves as a reminder to all women of the importance of having a yearly mammogram after the age of 40, and to fondly remember those from the Tug Valley area who lost their lives to the disease.

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RACHEL DOVE-BALDWIN

Staff Writer

WILLIAMSON - “Plant it Pink” is the slogan for this year’s flower garden located outside the Mingo County Courthouse that was planted by and is being cared for by members of the Wildwood Garden Club.

Monday morning, members of the club joined county officials in front of the garden to kick off the 2012 Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual event that occurs each year during the month of October.

Although umbrellas were a necessity for those in attendance due to the drizzling rain, that didn’t deter a crowd from attending the event. The welcoming speech was given by Anne Lambright, who was followed by speakers Kathy Pinson, Linda Shelton and Millie Pajarillo, who are all breast cancer survivors. Mingo County Commissioner Greg “Hootie” Smith addressed the crowd and thanked everyone for coming, and spoke about the great strides that are being made in the fight against breast cancer, and sadly, of the lives in the local community that have been lost to the disease.

Margaret Pinson read a poem entitled “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength”, followed by the musical selection “I Believe I Can Fly”, performed by Krista Cather. The closing prayer was delivered by Alan Johnson, with special thanks being given to Joan Trimble, Linda Shelton, Judy Hamrick, Scott Poole and Sherrie Brown.

Vicky Hughes, who serves as the American Cancer Society Community Health Advisor (CHA) Manager for Boone, Logan and Mingo Counties, attended the event and spoke with the Daily News about the fight against breast cancer, stating that she has great respect for the various organizations within the county that strive to enlighten and inform the public about the disease, along with those who raise funding to assist in paying for mammograms for those who cannot afford to do so.

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and we want all women in the Tug Valley area to remember that it’s extremely important to have a yearly mammogram after you reach the age of 40, or after you turn 30 if you have a family history of the disease,” stated Hughes. “If caught early, breast cancer is treatable. If not, the prognosis for the patient can be a totally different story.”

“Don’t be a statistic, get your yearly mammogram.”