The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Living Angel Award given to the Breast team
Four members of the Breast Team of Lorain County received the Living Angel Award on March 4.
The award was presented to Sondra Powell, Suzie Williams, Sue Kolta and Janet Neptune at the American Cancer Society’s annual Life Savers ball at the Emerald Event Center, 33040 Just Imagine Drive in Avon.
Dr. Alexander Zolli, who formerly organized the event before retiring from that role, described the challenges that the team has overcome before presenting them with the award.
“They have no budget,” he said. “They have no designated finances and they had no blueprint, but they have autonomy; they share a mission. The creativity of these four dynamos is demonstrated in a myriad of ways.”
After receiving the award, Williams recognized the bond built between the team and the women they serve.
“They came to us as patients, afraid and overwhelmed and they left us as lifelong friends,” she said. “Often they gave us more than we gave them.”
The incident also served as an opportunity to honor Landry Cole, 16, of Wellington, who was diagnosed in 2014 with choroid plexus carcinoma; a rare form of brain tumor which derived her of her sight.
According to Tiffany Tarpley, a newscaster on WKYC who introduced Landry, during a surgery to remove one of the tumors in her brain, Landry suffered a stroke and assorted other complications.
“The greatest challenge that Landry has endured has been recovering from a stroke and the side effects of the surgery when blind,” Tarpley said. “But this beautiful young lady never complains, never quits and
“It is often said that moral strength is the ability to make the conscious decision to be the person who doesn’t give up when it would be easy to do just that.”
—Tiffany Tarpley, a newscaster on WKYC
never asks, ‘why me?’
“It is often said that moral strength is the ability to make the conscious decision to be the person who doesn’t give up when it would be easy to do just that,” Tarpley continued. “Landry is a perfect example of moral strength.”
It was also announced at the ball that the Living Angel Award would be renamed in honor of Zolli and his wife Maria Zolli. It will now be known as the Alex and Maria Zolli Living Angel Award.