$8, 305.00 raised at first annual Miss Illinois Heart Pageant in Elizabethtown

The Miss Illinois Heart Pageant was held last Saturday night in the high school commons in Elizabethtown. The pageant was created in memory of Bennie Cook who had a massive heart attack in 1999 and fought congestive heart failure and the ailments and complications that go along with heart disease, from 1999 until 2016 when he passed. Bennie is the father to Tara Wallace and grandfather to Alexandra Wallace. The goal of Miss Illinois Heart Pageant Directors, mother/daughter duo Tara and Alex Wallace, was to not only raise money for the American Heart Association, but provide awareness about heart disease, symptoms, and prevention that might help those we love. Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the world, but is 80% preventable! The pageant was a success raising $8,305.00.