‘Ladies Night Out’ connects women together and spreads health awareness
Published 12:05 am Sunday, October 15, 2023
Breast cancer survivor Martha McConneaughey celebrates and shares her story of survival at Ladies Night Out. Brad Dountz/Salisbury Post.
For Ladies Night Out, women shopped, ate, and drank at the F&M Trolley Barn. Brad Dountz/Salisbury Post.
CoreLife comes up with personalized plans for people to lose weight and get healthier. Brad Dountz/Salisbury Post.
Greystone Salon offered manicures at the Ladies Night Out event. Brad Dountz/Salisbury Post.
Shapewear company Ruby Ribbon is pretty direct when getting women's attention. Brad Dountz/Salisbury Post.
SALISBURY — Every October, the Rowan Chamber of Commerce Women in Business program puts on their “Ladies Night Out” celebration to “lift up breast cancer awareness” and give back to breast cancer survivors. On Oct. 12, at the F&M Trolley Barn, the annual networking event had chamber members and women-owned businesses meet and honor those who have been afflicted with the far-reaching disease.
Businesses like Holy Cookie Dough, Cauble Creek Vineyard, SolFul Yoga Studio and Anna Craig Boutique were there to network with women and share what they do for the county. Novant Heath, Salisbury Surgical Associates and CoreLife offered health services for those in attendance. Kristen Trexler, who does community engagement for Novant Health, thinks that fusing medical and business awareness in a social setting can lead to more women finding out that they can do more for their well-being.
“Ladies can not only come out to shop, have a glass of wine, but they can get blood pressure checks, they can talk to a doctor, they can ask a nurse a question, they can do anything. Just to make sure they’re staying up-to-date with their mammograms and their health information,” Trexler said.
At the beginning of the night, Sandra Stanwick, Janice Parker and Martha McConneaughey all took the stage to tell about their experiences with cancer and how much progress they have made since their diagnoses. Greystone Salon & Spa, one of the event’s sponsors, gave each of the women makeovers to lift their spirits and “make them feel beautiful.”
Sheila Igo is the owner of Greystone Salon and has been doing these makeovers for over a decade. She first reached out to Novant Health about a way to contribute to end breast cancer after her friend was diagnosed with it. Novant sends the selected survivors who have been treated locally to the salon for their makeovers and Igo even says that some of the women she’s worked on have never been to a salon before.
“We wanted to pamper them, show them some love,” Igo said. “The most rewarding part is when I hear their stories and what they’ve overcome and what they’ve been through. When they come to me and give me a hug and they’re like, ‘Oh, my God! I had the most fun at the spa. I felt so pampered.’ ‘I felt so loved.’ ‘I felt so beautiful.’ They’ve been going through something where they didn’t feel beautiful. For our staff and for me to spend time with them and make them feel beautiful, it’s worth it,” Igo said.
When doctors told Stanwick that she had both breast and lung cancer, she didn’t know what the rest of her life would be like. She is now doing better and is grateful for the treatment and support she has received. For Stanwick, to get on the stage in front of everybody and be praised for her strength, it put it all in perspective just how far she’s come.
“It felt wonderful to be noticed and appreciated,” Stanwick said. “Women should support women more and this just goes to show it’s a great start in doing that…I’m feeling wonderful. I feel 100 percent better than I did in March. I really didn’t think I was going to make it through March.”
