Page 8 - South Mississippi Living - August, 2016

COASTNOTES
Award
winning.
Mercedes-Benz
of South Mississippi
11619 Bobby Eleuterius Blvd., D’Iberville, MS 39540 Located on the I-10 Frontage Road at The Promenade
228-265-9185 www.MBofSM.com
story by Lynn Lofton
It’s time for the American
Cancer Society’s annual Sweets & Champagne party at which a cancer survivor is honored. This year’s event is August 18, 6 to 9 p.m., at Island View Casino Resort’s Beach Tower. There will be music by
Steve Warren and live and silent auctions. In keeping with the theme of Champagne and Diamonds, there will be a chance to win a half-carat diamond.
The honoree is Kathy Santiago, who is a breast cancer survivor and has been in remission eight years. “Being told you have cancer is a life changing event, but it doesn’t define who you are,” she said. “However, there is a sense of responsibility to share hope and encouragement with others.”
She was coping with news of a long-time friend’s diagnosis with breast cancer and helping fulfill her friend’s bucket list when Santiago received the devastating news that she too had breast cancer.
Santiago is a former executive director of the American Cancer Society’s Gulf Coast Division. She dedicated herself to the full time fight against cancer, and has been able to share the importance of early detection and how a simple mammogram saved her life. In addition to bringing awareness
to the disease — with the help of many supporters and countless volunteers — she was instrumental in raising more than $1.6 million towards finding a cure for cancer.
Santiago hails from Atlanta, Ga., and attended nursing school after graduation. However, her career has been in sales and marketing, working in entertainment and motor sports. After relocating to the Gulf Coast in 1992, she worked in the gaming industry. In 2005,
she spent a year in the Tunica gaming jurisdiction after Hurricane Katrina. She is now director of business development for Island View Casino Resort.
Sweets & Champagne
www.sweetsandchampagne.org 228.896.8936
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