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Relayers motor through 13th year
(by Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor - June 27, 2009)
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| Natasha Webb, 11, waves a checkered flag aboard a pink convertible, a perfect mode of transportation for her team’s theme, the 1950s. |
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| Dressed in purple, the signature color of Relay For Life, cancer survivors lead the first lap of the 2009 Madison County Relay which took place June 19-20 at London High School. |
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| Madison County Fish & Game Association member Tom Wilson presents a donation for the American Cancer Society to Relayer Reagyn Semler. |
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| Antoinette Yuhas paints a dalmatian on the cheek of Dani Breen, 7, of London. Yuhas, an R.N., works for the Madison County Health District, which had a team at this year’s Relay For Life. |
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| Debbie Wilson videotapes her family’s participation in the Relay. On the other side of the lens are Wilson’s husband Roger, mother Emily DeWitt, and sister Vicki Bailey. Emily and Vicki are cancer survivors. Debbie said their team, “Lori’s Legacy,” walked in honor of her sister, Lori DeWitt, who passed away on May 15. |
“Who do you Relay for?”
It was a common question around London High School’s track June 19-20 during Madison County’s 13th annual Relay For Life, a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.
For Gina Newsome, the answer is her father, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer, her best friend’s mother, who was diagnosed with lung and brain cancer, and the congregation at her church, Lafayette United Methodist, where nine members of the small congregation are cancer survivors.
“Relay is very dear to our hearts,” said Newsome, a team recruitment volunteer and co-captain of Angels of Hope, one of the approximately 40 teams that participated in this year’s Relay.
As for her favorite part of Relay, Newsome said, “Relay people are all the same. They’re the most awesome bunch of people to be around.”
Jess Gross, one of this year’s Relay co-chairs, agrees wholeheartedly. She is not only “ecstatic” about the more than $94,000 Relayers raised, but also their acts of thoughtful-ness, all of which prove Newsome’s point.
One example came after a heavy storm and lightning sent everyone inside the high school at about 3 a.m. When they emerged an hour later, the damage had been done. The wind had snapped one of the large tent supports, scattered the luminaries, and tipped over all of the trash cans.
“I made an announcement to every-body: ‘If you need an activity to stay awake, you can help us tidy up,’ ” Gross said. “It was all hands on deck. I thought it would take hours to clean up, but because everybody pitched in, it was all done within 45 minutes.”
A heart-tugging example of people going beyond the usual involved the luminaries.
“We do them every year, setting them up around the track in memory of or in honor of loved ones. This year, I noticed that several people purchased and brought their own flowers to put by the luminaries. It isn’t anything we normally do; it’s just something people figured out to do on their own. It made it even more special,” Gross said.
This year’s contributions to the silent and live auctions were a pleasant surprise, too, said Gross, who expected the economy to take a toll on the fundraising facet of the Relay.
“We had people who maybe couldn’t be a corporate sponsor this year or donate as much as they had in the past, but they said, ‘Hey, we’ll donate items to the auctions,’ ” Gross said.
The outpouring yielded over 275 baskets full of goodies just for the silent auction. All totaled, the live and silent auctions brought in more than $9,000.
Event organizers took time during the closing ceremonies on Saturday to recognize all of these efforts, as well as present awards for specific team and individual achievements. The award winners are as follows:
• Top Fundraising Teams—Battling Buckeyes ($11,047.22), Angels of Hope ($10,234.75), Caring and Surviving ($5,228.20)
• Top Fundraising Individual—Rachel Krupa ($4,605), one of the Relay’s co-chairs. Her mother is a four-time Relay participant and three-time cancer survivor.
• Top Fundraising Youth Team—Madison Plains FFA ($1,107)
• Silver Teams (those who raise over $2,500)—First United Methodist Church of London, Jefferson Industries, London Elementary School, Nate’s Mates, Stanley Electric
• Gold Teams (over $5,000)—Caring and Surviving, Run for HOPE, Legion Rebels
• Platinum Teams (over $10,000)— Battling Buckeyes, Angels of HOPE
• Best Spirit Stick—Team Rowley
• Best Team Theme—Team Dennison (Americana)
• Best Team Campsite—Legion Rebels (1950s)
• Shirley Byerly Award—This year’s honoree is Melissa Atkins, who served as chair of the Madison County Relay for several years. The award is given to a member of the Relay for Life family who possesses the determination to aid in the fight against cancer and puts others first.
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