Page 18 - South Mississippi Living - September, 2016

COASTNOTES
AIRMAN
TUSKEGEE
story by Lynn Lofton photos courtesy of Race For The Cure
Heather Wiggins
The Mississippi Steel Magnolias Affiliate of Susan G. Komen announce the selection of Heather Wiggins as the 2016 Race for
the Cure Mississippi Gulf Coast Survivor of the Year. She will be recognized at the September 24 race
which begins at 8:30 a.m. in Jones Park in Gulfport. Wiggins, a Pascagoula resident, was diagnosed in
January 2015 with stage 2A breast cancer after finding
a lump during a self examination. She had a routine mammogram, which did not detect the mass, just months prior to the discovery. She completed treatments in October 2015 and serves as an inspiration to others with her positive attitude. “Every day, during treatments, I was reminded that many others have worse situations,” she said, “and I counted my blessings. I am a testament to the value of self-examination.”
Wiggins has worked as a Sr. Project Controller for Alion Science & Technology for 17 years.
Gulf Coast business woman Karen Sock is serving as Honorary Chair for the Race for the Cure Mississippi Gulf Coast. The event will include a 5K with an optional timed component, Survivor Breakfast, Survivor tent, Kids for the Cure activities tent, and Best “Pinked Up” Person contest.
Central Mississippi Steel Magnolias
601.594.4429 www.komencentralms.org
memorialized at airport
Dorothy Roberts,
Lawrence “Butch” Roberts II, Sally-Ann Roberts
story by Lynn Lofton
photo courtesy of Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport
A ceremony was held at Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport to unveil a bust memorializing the life and service of Col. Lawrence E. Roberts. The bust is displayed in the airport terminal with the busts of Col. John C. Robinson and Lt. Jeremiah J. O’Keefe. Robinson was a resident of Gulfport and was one of the first African American pilots in Mississippi. O’Keefe, a resident of Biloxi, was an ace pilot in World War II.
Roberts began his military career in the Army Air Corps as a pre-aviation cadet. His first assignment was to the Tuskegee Airmen program. He rose to the rank of colonel in the Air Force and was a founding board member of the John C. Robinson Brown Condor Association.
Roberts’ bust was commissioned by his children, Lawrence E. Roberts II of Houston, Texas; Sally-Ann Roberts of New Orleans, Louisiana; Dorothy Roberts
of Pass Christian; and Robin Roberts of New York City
at the request of the John C. Robinson Brown Condor Association. Ken and Mary Ott Davidson of Saucier were the sculptors.
Ceremony attendees and participants included members of Roberts’ family, officials from Keesler Air Force Base, various city officials, and members of the Lawrence Roberts Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen and the Brown Condor Association.
18 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • September 2016
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