When Tony Carnell heard the statistics, he couldn’t believe it. He was sitting in a recent “Lunch and Learn” seminar provided by Piedmont Henry Hospital’s Chelsea Johnson at the Henry County Water Authority (HCWA), where he serves as Deputy Manager, hoping to educate fellow employees about breast cancer.
One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point during their life. Carnell looked around the seminar room and counted more than eight women among his colleagues. His mind then raced to thoughts of his three daughters and the many women in his immediate and extended family. And then he processed the statistic Johnson shared that the highest mortality rate for breast cancer is among African-American women.
The gravity of those breast cancer statistics Carnell learned about during the Authority’s most recent “Lunch and Learn” seminar really hit home, he says. At that moment, he knew his new role as a community advocate for breast cancer awareness would be time well spent. That’s why he accepted the invitation from Piedmont Henry Hospital to serve as one of the 10 local professionals for the “Real Men Wear Pink” public education campaign.
“I was honored to be selected as one of the men to take part in this initiative,” says Carnell, who is a Professional Engineer (P.E.) with 23 years of experience at the HCWA, including the past four as Deputy Manager serving alongside General Manager Lindy Farmer. “The ‘Real Men Wear Pink’ campaign has been so good at raising awareness of the issue through the years. As a father of three daughters, as well as a man who cares about the women in my family and at work, this certainly has been an important and personal calling for me.”
As Deputy Manager of the HCWA, Carnell currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Henry County Chamber of Commerce, and he is a past Board Member of the Speedway Children’s Charity. Profession-ally, he is a Member of the Georgia Association of Water Professionals, being inducted into their “5-S” Society of honored water professionals this past year. In addition, he is the designee of June Wood, Chairman of the Henry County Board of Commissioners, to serve Henry County as a delegate for the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District. It’s this growing role as a leader at the Authority and in the community that made him an ideal selection as one of the “Real Men (who) Wear Pink.”
Piedmont Henry Hospital popularized the “Real Men Wear Pink” awareness campaign to provide women with information regarding early detection of breast cancer and treatment options available locally. Ten men are selected to be spokespersons and to share this message. They do so by attending and supporting events hosted by Piedmont Henry, as well as advocating for the cause at their respective places of work and in the community.
At the HCWA, Carnell and the leadership of the Authority, spearheaded by Employee Development Coordinator Claudia Cooper, have organized a number of activities for employees of the utility during the month of October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, nationally. Those activities even have included fundraising efforts among HCWA employees in support of breast cancer services and programs at Henry Piedmont, though Carnell says the hospital does not pitch “Real Men Wear Pink” as a fundraiser, per se.
Upon entering the headquarters of the HCWA on Highway 20 West in McDonough this month, customers and guests will see a life-size poster of Carnell sporting his pink button-down shirt that he wore for the promotional photo to kick off the “Real Men Wear Pink” campaign this year. The artwork, which Carnell’s fellow HCWA employees have dubbed “Flat Tony,” has taken on a life of its own. Many have taken selfies with “Flat Tony” to post on social media platforms in support of the “Real Men Wear Pink” campaign and public education goals.
“They (HCWA employees) are having fun with it, giving me a lot of grief over the increased exposure the ‘Real Men Wear Pink’ campaign has brought to me,” says a humble Carnell. “That’s fine, as long as I can help raise awareness about breast cancer and get the word out about the importance of early detection and local treatment options for women.”
In addition to taking selfies with “Flat Tony” in the lobby of the HCWA headquarters and participating in the “Pretty in Pink, Lunch and Learn” seminar, Authority employees have raised money through a weekly raffle, worn pink to work every Thursday, and decorated the Customer Service Department to alert customers of the cause. The HCWA even scheduled a Mobile Mammography unit to be on campus October 23, to provide women with a free mammography. “Our employees have been phenomenal, whether it’s been organizing activities or raising money to support the campaign,” says Carnell. “And what this has done, too, is open up a lot of people to talk about their experiences and their stories of how breast cancer has impacted them or a loved one. It’s an issue that’s very real and salient for a lot of people. I’m just blessed to be able to participate and represent the Authority in the community this way.”
