The Northwest Louisiana Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Our History
The first Komen Shreveport Bossier Race for the Cure® was held in 1994, with just a few hundred participants. We have since grown our numbers to over 5,786 women, men and children in 2009. Our Race participants, corporate partners, and hundreds of volunteers have helped bring breast cancer awareness to the attention of Northwest Louisiana. In 2009 we changed our name to reflect our entire service area. We represent Northwest Louisiana and now our name reflects that. Our Affiliate covers 10 parishes; Caddo, Bossier, Webster, Claiborne, Sabine, Red River, DeSoto, Natchitoches, Winn, and Bienville.

On September 18, 2010, we will host our 16th Race for the Cure® at the CenturyTel Center in Bossier City to accommodate the many supporters that we expect to be in attendance. We hope to have 10,000 attendees! We know we can reach our goal but we need your help!

Since 1999, we have granted over $1,366,169 in our service area. Recipients include Martin Luther King Clinic Women’s Health Program, LSU-HSC Shreveport - Partners in Wellness, Northwestern State University, and many others over the years. Over 75 percent of all funds raised by the Northwest Louisiana affiliate remain in Northwest Louisiana in programs with carefully chosen grantees that provide breast health education, screening or support for local women and men.

Twenty-five percent of net funds raised by the Northwest Louisiana Affiliate support The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Award and Research Grant Program, http://www.komen.org/grants. For the last 27 years, this program has provided funding for groundbreaking breast cancer research, much of which has led to landmark discoveries in the quest to find a cure and eventually prevent breast cancer.

History of Susan G. Komen for the Cure
With survivors and activists in 125 cities and communities, more than 100 Komen Race for the Cure® events in the United States and three International Affiliates, Susan G. Komen for the Cure is the most progressive grassroots organization fighting breast cancer today.

Thanks to more than 100,000 survivors and activists dedicated to the fight against breast cancer, the Komen Affiliate Network is the nation's largest private funder of community-based breast health education and breast cancer screening and treatment programs.

Up to 75 percent of the net income from each Komen domestic Affiliate is dedicated to fighting breast cancer in that Affiliate's community. Every year, Komen Affiliates award grants to local hospitals and community organizations that provide breast health education and breast cancer screening and treatment programs for medically underserved women. Remaining net income (a minimum of 25 percent) supports the Komen Award and Research Grant Program, which funds groundbreaking breast cancer research, meritorious awards and educational and scientific programs around the world.

The Power of a Promise
Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement. Today, Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure®, we have invested nearly $1.5 billion to fulfill our promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world. For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN.

Northwest Louisiana Affiliate Board of Directors – 2010

Zella Taggart, Board President is a retired Human Resource Manager. She began her work with Susan G. Komen for the Cure as a Volunteer through her association with the Parvenu/Bossier Charter Chapter ABWA. She was recruited to serve on the Board because of her dedication to the cause of ending Breast Cancer forever. She had a number of years of volunteer experience all over the world as a spouse of a former Retired Chief Master Sgt. (USAF). She has one son, a daughter-in-law and two grand children. A native of PA, she has resided in the area for a number of years.

Dr. Christopher Sockrider is a breast surgeon whose medical practice, Breast Care Specialists, is devoted exclusively to breast disease. He received his medical and surgical training at LSUHSC Shreveport. Serving Komen allows him to not only work to cure breast cancer but to give back to the community where he was educated. He is married with four children.

Dr. Joyce Feagin, Public Policy Chair, joined the board in 2005. As a practicing oncologist in Shreveport and in Minden, Louisiana, Dr. Feagin brings to Komen a wealth of information about women’s health.

Melinda Coyer, 2010 Race for the Cure Chair, is a senior account executive with Cumulus Broadcasting and a beloved radio personality in Shreveport Bossier with over 26 years of experience in the business. Melinda has lost both of her parents to cancer and is very passionate about finding a cure and eradicating cancer forever. She is married with 3 children.

Bob Crosby, Friday in Pink Chair, became involved with our affiliate when wife of 40 years, Linda, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001. He also serves on the board of directors for Goodwill Industries of Northwest Louisiana, and serves on several committees with that organization. He and Linda have one daughter, Kim. Bob is a Vietnam Veteran with the United States Marine Corps, and is the general manager at Toyota, where he has been employed since 1971.

Margaret Dunlap, Board Secretary, is the office manager for LifePath Hospice Care. She has been involved with the Race for the Cure for the past four years. Margaret started working with our affiliate in support of several friends who have been affected by breast cancer.

Janet M. Brossette, Board Grants Chair, retired in 2010 with 43 years in the banking industry serving as Vice President and branch manager of Regions Bank. She lost her sister to breast cancer in November of 2007 which really opened her eyes to the importance of early detection.

Darlene Dean, Board Treasurer, previously worked as an auditor in public accounting for seven years. She is married and has a daughter, a son, and two step-daughters. She balances a busy life of being a mom, wife and active Komen volunteer. Her mother, Margaret, is also on the board.

Amy Ray is an Insurance Agent for Keith D. Peterson & Co. She is a breast cancer survivor and has been the Survivor Race Chair since 2006 and has been active in the Race for the Cure since 2004. She is married and has one daughter.

Elizabeth C. Maxwell is a Vice President with Red River Bank’s Private Banking Division. She is married with two children. Elizabeth’s Grandmother, Aunt and Mother were all diagnosed with Breast Cancer. She is proud to say her Mother and Aunt are both Survivors’. Elizabeth is passionate that early detection is the key to saving lives and that we can and will find a cure.

Catherine Jones, Race Volunteer Co- Chair, retired in 2008 after 31 years of service with the Caddo Parish School System. She is a widow with two daughters and four grand-children. Catherine is very passionate about working for the cure of breast cancer. She has been an active volunteer with Komen for a number of years. Her support of several friends who are survivors is because she believes that the “Promise” will be fulfilled. Her service to Komen includes Volunteer Co-Chair for the Race for the Cure and Co-Chair of the 2009 Survivor’s Luncheon.

Crystal Brown-Tatum, Survivor Luncheon 2010 Chair, is a breast cancer survivor, award-winning entrepreneur and author. Losing her grandmother to breast cancer and than facing her own advanced stage diagnosis motivated her to passionately raise awareness in young women. She is a military wife and has one daughter.

Kay Nader, Is an experienced sales and marketing professional. She has served previously as a board member for the Louisiana Restaurant Association and was a key volunteer for the Family Crisis Center. She is eager to see a world with no breast cancer as a sister to a breast cancer survivor.

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Danielle Voumard, Executive Director, brings to Komen a strong educational background in Communication, and has previously worked in the pharmaceutical industry. She is passionate about seeing a world where no child ever loses their mother to breast cancer. Danielle is married and has one daughter.