Men of Courage breakfast to be held May 6

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – The Zonta Club of Cape Girardeau will host a breakfast event on Monday, May 6 called “Men of Courage: Together We End Sexual Assault”.

It will be from 7:30-9 a.m. at the University Center at 388 Henderson Avenue in Cape Girardeau.

This is the first time an event like this has been held in the Cape Girardeau community.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

The event is open to all men and promotes that it will be an empowering event that promises to inspire and ignite positive change.

“Men are women’s strongest allies,” said Rick Hetzel, Master Franchisor for Fresh Healthy Cafe – USA and Retired Cape Girardeau Chief of Police. “Women can easily tell other women that assault is not ok, but when men tell other men, that is when real change happens. I’m looking forward to the Men of Courage event and what Mr. Wilson has to share with the Cape Girardeau Community.”

This breakfast event will take place on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University in the University Center Ballroom.

Doors open and breakfast will be served at 7 a.m.. The event begins at 7:30 a.m. It is scheduled to end around 8:45 a.m.

Tickets are $10 each or $100 for a reserved table for 8. Parking passes will be provided to all attendees. Visit MenofCourage2024.eventbrite.com to purchase tickets.

“Men of Courage” will feature a talk by Edward Wilson, aka Obbie West. He is an international spoken word artist, advocate and author. He is originally from Los Angeles, California. He retired from the United States Army. His work as an author began in 2011 and culminated in the 2021 publication of his book, Blossom, a collection of his acclaimed poetry. West has invested a personal and sincere interest in shifting the climate around sexual assault and harassment throughout the U.S. Military, universities and communities at large.

“This event is really about men and women working together to end sexual assault. It’s an important step,” said Jessica Hill, Executive Director of the Safe House of Southeast Missouri, and Zonta Club of Cape Girardeau President-Elect. “Zonta wants to be able to share that message and give the community tools to help advocate for that change.”

Men of Courage is sponsored by Zonta Club of Cape Girardeau. Financial assistance is provided by the Office of Addictions, SEMO Department of Nursing.

Co-hosts include Safe House of Southeast Missouri, SEMO Network Against Sexual Violence, Semo Suicide Prevention and Iota Chi.