Pee Dee Heart Ball set for March 18
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
Get your tuxes, black ties, and ball gowns ready – and ladies, unbox your fanciest hat – because the 2017 Pee Dee Heart Ball is set for March 18, and the ballroom at SiMT will be transformed for a horse derby-themed evening of dining and dancing.
“Everybody should have a lot of fun with their formal attire and derby hats, but the hat is optional. It’s just a great twist to the evening to make it a little more fun,” notes Megan Ramsey, marketing and communications director for the American Heart Association.
With décor and table settings in keeping with the derby theme, a cocktail hour featuring mint juleps, a buffet style dinner, a DJ spinning favorite tunes to keep the dance floor lively, a silent auction and a live auction offering many unique and wonderful items, the Heart Ball is a sure bet for a fun night out.
The evening’s program will be emceed by Patsy Kelly and feature a message from Pee Dee Heart Association chairman Kevin McHugh, CEO of Embrace Hospice.
“We’ll also hear the story of a local survivor, a young child who has been impacted by heart disease, and we’ll have our Open Your Heart moment where guests are encouraged to give to the mission of the American Heart Association,” says Ramsey.
The Heart Ball is one of the Association’s biggest fundraisers of the year, along with the annual Heart Walk which takes place in the fall.
“(The Heart Walk) is a great community event for people to come out, form their community teams and have a fun and exciting day out walking to support the Heart Association mission. All the funds that we raise go towards life-saving research within our community,” says Ramsey.
Currently, the American Heart Association is funding over $5 million in research at South Carolina institutions including MUSC (Medical University of South Carolina), USC, and Clemson University.
“These research dollars are helping us to combat the number one killer in South Carolina. Heart disease is number one, and stroke is number five. The Association has done incredible work funding research for pacemakers, transplants, and things that are used in everyday medicine. While we’ve made great advances, there is still so much work to be done,” says Ramsey. “The good news is that 80 percent of it is preventable, so in addition to the research we also make efforts to educate the community through events like the Heart Ball and the Heart Walk.”
Tickets for the 2017 Pee Dee Heart Ball are $125 each, and you can register by visiting www.PeeDeeHeartBall.heart.org. Sponsorship opportunities are still available; contact Crystal Kirkland with PDHA for more information at (843) 665-0985.
To learn more about heart disease prevention and treatment, or to find support for those affected by heart conditions, visit www.heart.org and also the Pee Dee Heart Association page on Facebook.