Banquet celebrates women who not only survived, but thrive

By Vickie Evans-Nash

Contributing Writer

On Saturday, March 17, National Empowerment Group, Inc. in partnership with R&B entertainer J. MOST will be honoring 10 women for their work and breaking their silence on domestic abuse.

The 4^th Annual Women’s Appreciation Banquet will be held at the Mall of America Hilton in Bloomington in celebration of Women’s History Month. The celebration, now in its fourth year, started as a way for J. MOST to honor his grandmother. He wasn’t aware of Women’s History Month until his daughter told him about it.

Because not everyone has a sweetheart on Valentine’s Day and not all women have children to celebrate them on Mother’s Day, J. MOST says, “Those days are special, but you would be surprised how many women are really down on those days.

“[For] Women’s History Month, let’s just celebrate women for being women…honor[ing] women that overcome just regular, common, everyday challenges and obstacles.”

MOST saw the story of Yvette Cade on TV One. She survived severe burns that covered 60 percent of her body as the result of an abusive husband who poured gasoline on her and set her on fire outside her job. Cade will be the keynote speaker at the March 17 event.

MOST’s response to Cade’s story: “We need to show a population of women that you can survive it. You can overcome this.”

This year, he began a nonprofit organization to become a support mechanism for women on a year-round basis. He also partnered with National Empowerment Group, Inc. (NEG), founded by Dr. Wendy Johnson and headquartered in Houston, Texas that advocates for and educates women and girls in domestic abuse situations. J.MOST is a registered NEG agent for the state of Minnesota, but he says he could not have started the organization without the help of his good friend Christal Dillard.

In summer 2012, J. MOST will release a new CD titled Mr. MOST, and he continues to teach Chicago-style stepping around the Twin Cities, but that’s not the only thing he wants to be known for.

“I’m a community service person. I’m a social service person,” and he wants to be known for giving back to his community.

The MSR had the opportunity to speak with three of the women who will be honored during the March 17 banquet. See their stories on the front page of MSR. 

For more information on the Fourth Annual Women’s Appreciation Banquet, contact J. MOST at 612-237-5118. 

Vickie Evans-Nash welcomes reader responses to vnash@spokesman-recorder.com.