SAN ANTONIO -- In typical Texas fashion, Daisy Tours of San Antonio is partnering in a BIG way with the American Heart Associations national "Go Red for Women" program to increase awareness of heart disease in women.

The most-visible manifestation of the campaign in San Antonio is one of Daisys 45-foot Van Hool coaches wrapped in a graphic that emphasizes the importance of heart disease prevention among women.

June Bratcher, owner of Daisy Tours and Conventions, has long believed that a good looking coach draws attention, so why not use one of hers to spread the message?

So Bratcher, who has been buying coaches for 20 years from ABC Companies, approached ABC Regional Vice President Tim Vaught and Senior Account Executive Greg Gates and asked if ABC would help with the effort. She would provide the bus, if ABC would provide the graphics.

ABCs Florida-based graphics department designed and produced the wrap, and the Grand Prairie, Texas, branch installed it. The coach is now a rolling advocate for womens heart-care awareness.

The American Heart Association campaign for women goes back to the 1990s when the organization discovered that heart disease was perceived as a "men only" thing.

That perception was wrong and resulted in far less attention being paid to womens heart health. Eleven years ago, the association began a "Take Wellness to Heart" campaign that, in 2004, evolved into the nationwide "Go Red For Women" effort.

Cardiovascular diseases, including heart attack and stroke, are the leading cause of death among women in the U.S. There are a number of things, however, that can be done to prevent cardiovascular problems. In addition, when diagnosed early and treated properly treated, they can almost always be controlled, often with simple changes in lifestyle.

The "Go Red for Women" campaign is designed to increase womens awareness of the danger, and to provide resources to identify and control personal risk. This is done through a Website, www.goredforwomen.org, as well as a national "Wear Red" day.

The Website includes a free heart checkup tool that helps evaluate risk factors, and provides valuable information to women as they communicate with their healthcare provider.

The campaign also includes heart healthy cookbooks, recipes, posters and Web alerts to help women.

Bratcher is convinced that national programs are good, but she also thinks a solid local campaign is key to really getting the message out. To that end, she chaired the 2008 "Go Red for Women Luncheon" early this month in San Antonio.

More than 400 guests were expected to attend the luncheon, raising upwards of $200,000 to "directly impact the life-saving mission of the American Heart Association."

Bratcher is bringing the same energy and talent to the "Go Red for Women" effort that she has used to build Daisy Tours into a premier coach company. Twenty years ago she came to the conclusion her convention business needed to control the quality of coaches she used.

She accomplished this by assembling her own fleet of 20 Van Hools, none older than 2002.