BANGOR – A ride in a limousine, a rose, a new hairdo, an elegant meal and a gift.

“We were being treated like queens,” one woman excitedly told Alice Page during WomenHeart Night Out on Nov. 14.

Page of Corinth is the Maine coordinator for WomenHeart, a nonprofit organization offering support and education to women dealing with cardiac and cardiovascular illness.

Locally, the group meets at 6 p.m. the second Tuesday of the month at Sunbury Village on Ohio Street.

That’s where they were met by Rick Badger and a driver from Blue Hill Limousine Service. Next came a beautiful rose for each lady, donated by Robert Bennett of Bennett Wholesale Florist.

The fun really started when the group – all women with heart disease – arrived at J.C. Penney to see manager Lena Estes and a salon full of beauticians for some pampering.

“Our ladies were enjoying the evening,” Page said. “You could tell – there was singing, laughter, a lot of happy faces.”

Then it was off to the Olive Garden, where manager Renee Ireland greeted the women with special menus. Dinner was topped off with dessert and then gifts from Tony Paratore of Macy’s.

Noting that all services were provided free for the evening, Page said, “There is a wonderful bunch of caring people out there, who give and care for others.”

She was thrilled to see women who are coping with heart disease turn out for a monthly meeting and be greeted with such wonderful surprises. Page herself has learned a lot in the years since she had a stent put into one of her arteries.

“Heart disease is not an old person’s disease, or just a men’s disease,” she emphasized.

Page’s knowledge, and her commitment to helping these women, took a giant step forward four years ago when she went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., as a WomenHeart volunteer.

The volunteers were treated so wonderfully from the moment they arrived, Page said, that she came home “wanting to do something good” for women with heart disease in this area.

She is a coordinator and spokeswoman for WomenHeart.

“And we have two new ladies for WomenHeart, Debbie Ames of Calais and Betsy Doherty of Ellsworth,” Page said. “They have recently attended the symposium at the Mayo Clinic. They are now spokeswomen and plan on becoming coordinators in their area. They will speak at health fairs and speaking engagements.”

Having a speaker give a program to an organization or group of employees is free, Page pointed out.

“They need to learn about the warning signs and risk factors, and it could save one of their employee’s lives,” she said.

For information about WomenHeart, call Page at 285-7592, e-mail spch1@netzero.com or visit www.womenheart.org.