Danielle Beverly, wife of former Atlanta Falcon Eric Beverly, is as beautiful as she is inspiring. The three-time breast cancer survivor delivered moving keynote remarks at the 15th annual Pink Ribbons luncheon Monday.
"Cancer is not a death sentence," said Beverly, first diagnosed at age 29. "Life does and is going on."
She was among the guest models during the Belk fashion show. Other survivor models included Frank Argenbright, Denise Billips, Laurie Costello, Delma De la Fuente, Ruth Eldredge, Susan Murphy, Claudia Patton, Edie Reid and Nancy Whaley.
The luncheon was chaired by Becky Wallis and Kim Scholes, honored Valery Voyles and was sponsored by founder Dr. Sheldon Lincenberg.
"It's hard to fill a room these days, but it looks like we did it," he said, scanning the sold-out crowd in the Buckhead Ritz-Carlton's elegantly pinked-out ballroom.
Speaking of the Ritz-Carlton, they're hosting a special Pink Ribbons Tea daily in October, with a portion of proceeds benefiting Pink Ribbons Atlanta. The menu includes pink dipped strawberries, pink tea cookies, chocolate pink teacakes and more. Seatings are at 2:30 and 3 p.m. daily and the cost is $36 per person, or $57 with champagne. For reservations call 404-240-7035.
She's ready for her close-up
Philanthropist Melanie Boltax and playwright John Gibson cased the stage at the Pink Ribbons luncheon, no doubt getting ready for Mel's big debut. Nov. 12 is "Camp Kudzu Night" at the playhouse, with proceeds from the performance of "A Sunday Afternoon at Loehmann's" benefiting the charity that serves kids with juvenile diabetes. Boltax has a special cameo. The Camp Kudzu luncheon she is hosting, featuring a scene from "Loehmann's," is Oct. 16 at the Buckhead Ritz-Carlton. Info: www.ansleyparkplayhouse.com, www.campkudzu.org.
In other pink news
Agile on the Green, a charity golf outing held Monday at Bear's Best in Duluth, raised more than $30,000 for the Atlanta chapter of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Tourney champs, shooting a team score of 59, were Andre Reese of Cox Enterprises, Tim Tyler of Big Fix and Preston Futnell of Reflex Systems. Tricia Dempsey founded both her company, Agile, and the Agile on the Green event while recovering from stage-3 breast cancer.
"To have started the tournament the way Tricia did out of the adversity of breast cancer is a great testament to Tricia's strength and commitment to this cause, and that is what motivates this entire cause," said Kelly Dolan, executive director of Komen Atlanta.
Even the sky is pink
The AT&T building at 675 Peachtree St. and the top of the "Queen Building" in the Perimeter area are glowing pink at night throughout October (which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month). The light show is a reminder of the Atlanta Making Strides walk on Oct. 24 at Atlantic Station. Top fundraisers as of this week are Danielle Files, Barbara McKnight, Amy Thomas, Teri Rogers, Darryl Johnson, Kay Nay, David Hicks, Janis Altshuler, Christine Guerra and Kerry Shultz. Info: www.stridesatlanta.org or 404-315-9417.
Sunset stroll down south
Dunaway Gardens in Newnan hosts a "Sunset Stroll" event from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday. The event features live jazz music by Doug Kees and a cash bar. Opened originally in 1934 as a theatrical resort favored by Minnie Pearl and Walt Disney and restored to its original splendor by current owner Jennifer Bigham, it's now a botanical events facility. Stroll admission is $5. Info: 678-423-4050, www.DunawayGardens.com.
