Salt Lake Deanery Spring Luncheon will feature local news anchor

Friday, Feb. 05, 2016

MAGNA — Mary Nickles, KUTV2 morning news anchor, will be the guest speaker for the 2016 Salt Lake Deanery Spring Luncheon. 

To follow in the footsteps of the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, the Salt Lake Deanery has adopted the DCCW’s convention theme, “Be the Voice of Catholic women: Sowers of Hope.” 

“We are really excited to have Mary speak at our Spring Luncheon; she is such a public figure in our area and she is Catholic,” said Barb Kerouac, Salt Lake Deanery president. “ Mary, a breast cancer survivor, can give women hope in the face of a crisis. She has a wonderful disposition and outlook on life. She had such a public following throughout her cancer treatment, and I think she will exceed the perception of a sower of hope.” 

Nickles’ talk is titled “Positivity and Hope Through Adversity.” The adversity in Nickles’ situation was cancer, although adversity can be any kind of challenge an individual or family faces, she said. “A job loss, a death in the family, an illness, a child struggling – these are all adversities that individuals and families have to fight through,” she said. “I had to stay positive through my battle with cancer; that is what helped me get through it.” 

What Nickles learned is that everybody is different, every cancer is different, every treatment is different, every reaction is different; what helped her keep going was getting up every day and going to work, she said. 

When one is diagnosed with something as serious as cancer, “it’s devastating, and scary, and you don’t always think, ‘I’m going to get through this,’ but you have to. You have to think you are going to get through it to keep going,” Nickles said. “You have to have that hope – ‘I hope it’s gone,’ ‘I hope this isn’t going to knock me out of work for months’ – and if you have that hope then you have a goal, so you can keep fighting and pushing, knowing that hope will happen if you keep going. That is what worked for me.” 

Nickles didn’t know if the chemotherapy was working for her, or if she would feel well enough to go to work, she said.

“Luckily I was able to keep going to work, although some days I didn’t feel that good,” she said. “But I didn’t want people to worry about me, and that kept me wanting to come back the next day.”

During her talk at the luncheon, Nickles will share more about how she and her family survived her battle with cancer, as well as a story or two about her extended family.

A portion of the proceeds from the luncheon will go to support the works of the Salt Lake Deanery and a charitable organization that is in need of help. 

“There are so many organizations in need throughout our community that after the final tally of the proceeds, a vote will determine the recipient of the proceeds,” said Kerouac. 

Some of the local beneficiaries the Salt Lake Deanery has supported in the past include Give Me a Chance, the Retired Priests fund, the Carmelites nuns and Catholic Community Services. 

“This is the only fundraiser the Salt Lake Deanery holds each year; it is fun to see ladies from all the different deaneries throughout the state come together for an afternoon of sharing,” said Kerouac. 

WHAT: Salt Lake Deanery Spring Luncheon

WHEN: March 5, social at 11 a.m.; lunch at noon

WHERE: Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, 2864 South 9800 West, Magna

COST: $10 per person in advance; $15 day of event

For tickets or information, contact Barb Kerouac, 801-964-6512.