The Women Behind the Boobs: Meet Celia Styer

June 26, 2016

Beyond Boobs! is one big happy family, but it is also a business. In addition to a host of amazing volunteers, BB! has been blessed with a group of talented, hardworking staff members who are truly the backbone of the organization. Because of their love and dedication, we are able to continue our mission of providing encouragement and support to young women diagnosed with breast cancer.

Staff members work behind the scenes to make sure all of our events run smoothly, and they take care of the millions of not-so-sexy, but just as valuable, details of running a business. Most important, they are there for our Boobers!, helping them live life with an exclamation point!

We share so much of our lives with our staff. Spending time with these amazing women and getting to know them and their families is a joy. And now it is our great privilege to introduce them to you. In the coming weeks, the blog will feature profiles of our staff members – the women behind the boobs.

celia styerA neighbor first told Celia Styer about Beyond Boobs! several years ago, but at the time Celia was still raising her two sons, Ryan and Mitchell. Later she cared for her mom, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and provided a home for her niece. However, after her mom passed away and her niece moved out, Celia found herself with time on her hands. She knew just where to turn.

Celia began volunteering with BB! in 2010. Two years later she joined the group as a staff member. Initially she worked on administrative tasks, but gradually she drifted over to the events side of things, which is where she spends her days now as the Marketing and Events Coordinator.

“I began helping with the silent auction at the fashion show on the Southside first,” Celia explained. “The first year I worked on getting items for the auction, and then the next year I was running it myself. After that I started doing registration.”

Celia considers herself a low-key, behind-the-scenes kind of gal, so the BB! dialect took some getting used to. “I consider myself very proper in public, so at first I was embarrassed by all of the terminology,” Celia said. “Words like Boobs, Boobers!, and Boostiers. But now I use those words all the time and don’t even think twice about them.”

Celia and Vicki Vawter work as a team on BB! signature events. “Vicki is the big-picture person,” Celia said. “I keep the trains running, so to speak, with spreadsheets and details.”

In the fall Celia spends a lot of her time organizing the Mustang Raffle that leads up to the Starlets of Dance competition.

Starlets also happens to be Celia’s favorite BB! event. It was one of the first she ever attended and she loves seeing the transformation of the Starlets over the eight weeks of practice before they take the stage to perform and compete.

“I work closely with those women and I see them from the start,” Celia said. “They are so nervous, but after weeks of lessons they accomplish a huge thing in front of so many people. There is nothing like the smiles on their faces when they finish.”

Celia enjoys working with BB!, but it is the Boobers! who keep her going. “Talking with the women at the first Boober! retreat I attended hooked me,” Celia said. “The experiences those women had with breast cancer were so different from what my mom went through. It is important to be able to help someone talk and heal.”

The BB! staff members also hold a very special spot in Celia’s heart. “I love my team,” Celia said. “These are the hardest working people I have ever known. They are phenomenal.”

Celia and her husband Don have been married for 29 years. In addition to their two adult sons, they are the proud pet parents of Tank, a golden retriever; Fox, a Pomeranian; and Ohana, a Quaker parrot who likes to bark, make zipper sounds, and cluck like a chicken.

 

 

 

 

 

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