Franklin Rodeo: Wearing Pink for a Reason

Kris Geier’s favorite color has always been pink, but now the color has a special meaning for her. Pink is the color for breast cancer survivors, of which the Spring Hill, Tenn. woman is one.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2011 and got her health care at the Breast Health Center at the Williamson Medical Center. After a lumpectomy, chemotherapy and radiation, she’s cancer free.

And she celebrates each year at Tough Enough to Wear Pink night at the Franklin Rodeo.

It’s a natural tie for her; funds raised from the Saturday night of the rodeo, this year on May 16, go to benefit the Breast Health Center. In the last nine years since “pink night” began, $66,000 has been raised for the Center.

Geier, whose brother passed from a brain tumor when he was 23, faced cancer head-on. ‘I wasn’t afraid, I wasn’t scared,” she said. “I do believe it’s all a frame of mind. I’m pretty much a positive person, and I think that has a lot to do with how you handle things.” She realizes that everybody has problems. “Everybody has trials and tribulations,” she said. Cancer is a huge one, but if you keep a positive frame of mind, you can get through it.”

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She and her husband, Philip, made sure their children, daughter Makenna and son Sam, were OK through their mother’s treatment. When her hair was about to fall out due to chemo, she let the children shave her head. Makenna shaved one half and Sam did the other. “I wanted it to be something they wouldn’t be afraid of. We tried to make it not scary. It was whacky but it was fun.”

When she and her family moved from Orange County, California in 2007, they began attending the Franklin Rodeo. Each child brings a friend, and the family comes to all three nights. “It’s good fun for the kids, because it’s very family oriented,” she said.

And pink night at the rodeo is special to her. “I’m grateful and thankful, and I appreciate every day I have. It’s good to be still alive and kicking,” she laughed.

She has plenty of pink in her wardrobe from which to choose on the Saturday night of the Franklin Rodeo. “It’s not uncommon for me to wear pink tennis shoes or pink whatever,” she says. “I love the color and now it has a different meaning for me. Not only is it my favorite color, but it’s my favorite color in a different way.”

The Franklin Rodeo is May 14-16 at the Williamson Co. Ag Expo Center with performances beginning at 7 pm each night. Tickets range in price from $10 to $20 and can be purchased online at FranklinRodeo.com or at the gate. For more information, visit the website, call 615-RODEO-11 or find the event on Facebook and Twitter.

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