Local celebrities support GYRIG at Fine Line Music Cafe.

Tim Mahoney plays the Fine Line tonight

Local musician Tim Mahoney will be getting his rear in gear tonight when he plays the Fine Line Music Cafe along with Toni Lindgren and Janani Logendran. The three musical acts are part of a fundraising effort to support the Colon Cancer Coalition and Get Your Rear in Gear programs to raise awareness and funding for colon cancer screening. The event is co-sponsored by Charity Warriors, ME & C Inc., and Maverick Champions and

Toni Lindgren and Janani Logendran

will also include local celebrities, including Mrs. St. Paul, Audrey Flack, , who will be speaking throughout the night.

Musical artists will take the stage at 8:00 pm. Doors open at 7pm. Advance general admission tickets sales for $7.00 are available online at vitalculture.com. General admission tickets at the door will be $10.00. For more information regarding the evening at the Fine Line, please contact Avril Jones at 612-499-0464.

Putting colon cancer on stage

Audrey Flack, Mrs St. Paul International 2010

Tonight’s concert, which features noted musical artists, highlights a growing trend in the entertainment industry to put a public spotlight on colon cancer. On both national and local fronts, communities are embracing a public discussion about what was once a hushed disease. And, in at least one case, local celebrities have made it a public platform. Audrey Flack, who was officially crowned Mrs. St. Paul International last week, chose to participate in the pageant for the sole purpose of promoting colon cancer awareness. After her stepfather, Jim, was diagnosed in 2008 of stage four colon cancer, Flack became aware of the importance of colon cancer screening.

Audrey explains that about a year ago her stepfather developed stomach pain that they assumed was food poisoning. During a trip to the emergency room, her family got the news that they never expected. He had stage four colon cancer. It was not until after the diagnosis that the family realized that a previous relative had not only been diagnosed with colon cancer, but had actually died from the disease. As a result of these findings, the entire family was screened. Two family members had positive results. In both cases, the polyps which were discovered during colonoscopy were removed, possibly preventing them from developing the disease.

As her stepfather battled his illness, Audrey looked for ways to bring an important message about the importance of colon cancer screening to her community. “I had never done pageants before,” she says, “but the International pageant program puts an emphasis on promoting each contestants’ platform. I thought that this might be a way to deliver my message.” She continues, “it is important to get screened, but it is also extremely important to know your family history.” Flack takes her message to a variety of functions including rotary functions and health fairs, where people of all ages listen to her speak.

“There is a role for everyone in the fight against colon cancer. Younger people can start early by living a healthy lifestyle and they can remind others to get screened, and everyone should know their family history.”

Jim, Audrey’s stepfather, is taking it day by day. He recently became part of a new clinical trial which has allowed him to regain a quality of life that he had lost after his initial diagnosis. Flack says “he is more like himself now.”

Audrey Flack will be speaking at the Fine Line event tonight.

Gathering community support for the cause

Audrey Flack’s message about of the importance of colonoscopy and living a healthy lifestyle is also part of the mission of the Colon Cancer Coalition. Founded in 2006 by Kristin Tabor, the Coalition began hosting the Get Your Rear in Gear 5K in the Twin Cities and now, with support from communities across the country, has taken the race nationwide. It is by connecting with groups like the Charity Warriors, who are co-sponsoring tonight’s event, that the Coalition has been successful at promoting its message. The following is Kristin Tabor’s account of how she met and connected with Charity Warriors director Avril Jones.

Last spring I was driving around in a mad frenzy trying to get race brochures distributed for the Twin Cities race.  One of our founding sponsors, Caribou Coffee, has always generously supported the Get Your Rear in Gear events and also allowed us to display our information in stores. So as I ran inside one of the shops, a woman stopped me with a smile and asked if she could find out more about Get Your Rear in Gear.

While I only had a couple of minutes to spare, Avril Jones and I exchanged business cards and agreed to have coffee one day.  Those days became almost six months because of schedules. Over the course of time, Avril was persistent to tell me that she wanted to help the cause.

When we finally sat down, Avril shared more information about her non-profit business Maverick Championz. which was set-up to encourage her daughters and youth to give back to their community.  Avril’s personal interest in our organization came from collapsing one day in front of her kids.  She soon learned the cause behind her fainting.  She had non-malignant tumors on her colon.  This experience increased her interest to help with colorectal cancer awareness.

Last month, Maverick Championz and Charity Warriors put out a table at two Major’s Sports Cafes for three weekends in a row.  Their mission?  To provide education to the customers about colorectal cancer while raising funds by selling raffle tickets to the Monday Night Vikings & Packers game.  The Colon Cancer Coalition was handed a check for over $700.00 and two lucky raffle participants won two 50 yard line tickets, 21 rows up, a driver for the night and dinner at Major’s Sports Café.

This month, Maverick Championz and Charity Warriors are at it again raising awareness and funds for the Colon Cancer Coalition.  They have organized a concert benefit at one of the Twin Cities most famous music venues.  Never underestimate the power of a stranger with a smile wanting to help a cause.