Pink, powerful, passionate…and headed to Sarasota

It’s going to be an amazing sight - a sea of pink - 3,000 breast cancer survivors coming together in Sarasota, Florida to celebrate life, and participate in the International Dragon Boat Festival. Among those survivors will be Eagle Grove’s very own Wyn Ann Allen. Accompanying her on the trip, and hoping to paddle in a “supporters” race, will be Maureen Thielen and Lori Hungate, both also of Eagle Grove.

In May, Allen celebrated 24 years of being a survivor. This summer, she celebrated 10 years of being a member of the Fighting Angels Abreast Dragon Boat racing team, and she hasn’t looked back since. Instead, she has only looked forward, to the future, and the possibility of helping someone else who is fighting their own battle against breast cancer. Being a part of the Fighting Angels Abreast allows her to do that, raising money for those at the Fort Dodge Cancer Center who can’t afford transportation, wigs, and more. The group also present new patients with “cancer bags” to help them through their difficult journey ahead, for no other eason than to let them know they care.

Allen’s Dragon Boat experience began in 2004, when her niece, Kris Miller, introduced her to Dragon Boat racing. Allen found a new passion. By 2005, they were recruiting their own Eagle Grove team. Hungate read about it in the “Eagle Grove Eagle.” She approached Thielen about joining the team after church one day, and the two of them did it. While Hungate has raced on and off over the years, Thielen has remained a member ever since.