by senior contributor Brendan Kownacki
It’s always going to be a good evening when you pack the stage with some of the finest women in local media, and this year’s Newsbabes bash certainly delivered. This was the fifth annual affair and supporters were out in droves packing The Hamilton in support of the Newsbabes and this year’s beneficiary, the Howard University Cancer Center.
It was really a night about “survivors and thrivers” as one newsbabe put it. The room glowed with pink lights and pink outfits all as a part of the celebration of fighting breast cancer. Dr. Wayne Frederick was on hand to talk about the impact of raising these funds. Frederick is the Provost at Howard University and is a respected clinician in the city who earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology, his medical degree from the College of Medicine, and his Masters in Business Administration from the School of Business, all from Howard. Dr. Frederick passionately explained that in the United States, DC has the second highest instances of breast cancer. He also explained that there are so many underserved patients who struggle regularly with the idea of whether they can treat their cancer or support their families, and thus these funds are critical.
J.C. Hayward
The guest of honor for the evening is a local institution in the news industry and has the distinction of serving as an anchor at WUSA9 over the course of four decades – JC Hayward. Hayward commanded the room as she talked about her own battle with cancer, the support of friends like coworker and fellow newsbabe Andrea Roane and about the vulnerability of chronicling the illness. “I had no hair on; I had no makeup on” and she had the room in stitches describing that she was pretty sure the photographer who was with her going into surgery must have seen her topless.
Andrea Roane
Hayward’s spirit and humor about her battle with cancer inspired confidence in people around the room who have been facing cancer, past and present.
