Kevin Felsher named 2020 Real Man of the Year on Mississippi Gulf Coast by American Cancer Society

GULFPORT, Miss. – The American Cancer Society has named Kevin Felsher as Real Man of the Year for the 2020 Real Men Wear Pink campaign on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The award recognizes his leadership in encouraging community members to step up in the fight against breast cancer. Felsher, who works for the State of Mississippi, raised a total of $22,291.

Real Men Wear Pink is a distinguished group of community leaders determined to raise awareness and money to support the American Cancer Society’s mission and save more lives than ever before from breast cancer. Felsher was named Real Man of the Year for his passion, commitment and relentless efforts to raise funds in October to support American Cancer Society breast cancer initiatives, including innovative research, patient services, and education around screenings and risk reduction.

“I became a 2020 Real Men Wear Pink ambassador in honor of my aunt Margaret who passed away from breast cancer and my friend Kipp Gregory who was a former ambassador that passed away last year,” said Felsher. “Being an ambassador has been rewarding in so many different ways, from interacting with members of our wonderful community, to feeling a sense of accomplishment by helping in the fight against the spread of breast cancer. To all of my fellow leaders and civic-minded citizens, I highly recommend you consider becoming an ambassador for Real Men Wear Pink in the future.”

Nationwide, more than 3,000 Real Men participants accepted the fundraising challenge and competed to be the top fundraiser among his peers by the end of the campaign. The Real Men Wear Pink campaign on the Mississippi Gulf Coast included 28 participants raising $105,221.  The local campaign ranked 26th nationally.

“The COVID pandemic has given cancer the advantage, as women were forced to postpone regular breast cancer screenings earlier this year,” said LaWanda Jones for the American Cancer Society. “We are grateful to our Real Men Wear Pink participants for lending their voices to raise awareness and funds for everyone fighting breast cancer.”

According to the American Cancer Society Cancer Facts & Figures 2020, an estimated 279,100 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer and an estimated 42,690 will die from the disease this year. In Mississippi, 2,390 women will be diagnosed this year and 460 will die from the disease. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, and it is the most common cancer diagnosed in women other than skin cancer.

For more information about breast cancer or the Real Men Wear Pink campaign on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, visit www.RealMenWearPinkACS.org/GulfCoastMS.