Relay
for Life kickoff event held
The Gallery in Grangeville was the site of the American Cancer Society’s
Relay for Life Kickoff and began with a skit performed by the team of “Kid’s
Gone Wild For A Cure” with Courtney Cuffe and Rachel Mager as team captains
and their team members of Tessa Darr,  Caitlyn
Eckert, Tressie and Treana Hansen. They were “dreaming of finding
a cure for cancer” to the tune of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” and changing
the words to the fight and defeat of cancer in their lifetime. You
can look for them in future events and be watching for their next bake
sale at Asker’s Grocery. The Gallery with Chef Nancy, Sue, and Carmen
as our wonderful hosts made for a great way to begin ‘catching the spirit
of Relay’ that “Dr. Gordy Klatt began in 1985 in Tacoma, Washington,” explained
Sally Soltman of Grangeville, 2009 Chairperson. Relay is a fairly
new experience for Sally as she related that when she first heard about
this event she “thought this was a sporting event” but was soon straightened
out and came to know Relay For Life as “more of a spiritual event” as there
is a tender spot in every cancer survivor and victim who has ever participated
in this family event. Nicol Barnes, our ACS Staff Partner, thanked
everyone for attending and “always loves to come to Grangeville as this
committee is so great to work with.” She is excited about this year,
Relay’s 25th year and told of the theme for this year as the committee
chose “As Time Goes By” and that team captains can choose any year from
1985 to the present for decoration and costume designing as well as camp
site preparations. She told of where some of the money that our Relay
has raised has gone to the University of Idaho in excess of $2 million
dollars in research grants, which is great to know that we have and will
benefit from our fundraising efforts. Our new “Cancer Resource Center”,
staffed by numerous local volunteers, is a direct service some of our Relay
money has financed. Mary Beth Meyers invited all cancer survivors
to stand and in applause explained that “the survivor’s are what this event
is all about” and that this year the committee really wants to “focus on
our relationships with each other and with our families.” Our main
goal for this Relay is to have a record number of survivors to “walk the
survivor lap” and enjoy an evening of fun and entertainment as they are
recognized for fighting a tough battle, and being an encouragement to others
fighting the same battle. “As we all know our economy is not that
great right now” so we are not focusing on how much money we can raise,
rather how many people we can gather in able to inspire and enrich each
other. Terri Peterson, Luminaria Chairperson, visualized the portion
of the event in which everyone, young and old, can relate to; the luminiaria
ceremony. For every donation made to a team member, a plain white
lunch sack with the American Cancer Society logo will be decorated as to
the team’s theme and bear the name of the person in whom the donation was
made. Terri explained that cancer has entered into her family’s life
and she showed the bags she has made for her grandmother, sister, and mother-in-law
and how meaningful it is to se them lit up at the track. Team Captains
can give Terri a call at 983-2145 to pick up luminaria bags for their members.
Amy Conn, Team Captain Chairperson, invites everyo9ne forming a team to
pick up a packet for their team members by calling her at 451-0385.
Team Captain meetings will start this month on Monday the 23rd at Oscar’s
banquet room from 5:45 to 6:30 p.m. These short, informative meetings
will have team captain packets, fundraising ideas, and all kinds of exciting
news as final plans are being set for the main event on July 17.
Amy will be relating the schedule of events, food plans, and everything
a team captain wants to know about Relay For Life at these monthly meetings.
Jim Wagner, Logistics Chairperson, thanked everyone for coming and told
his story of how he became involved in Relay by first making  donations
to his friend, Jan Peters, as she was captain of a team that traveled to
the Snake River Relay in Clarkston, Washington for several years.
“Jan finally got me to be on her team” and I realized what she meant about
the feeling you get from being a part of Relay. It wasn’t long before
“Grangeville was asked to host an event and I have been on the planning
committee since.” Jim is also a survivor as he was diagnosed in 2008
and this will be his second year to walk the survivor lap. Carolyn
Hanning and her daughter, Tammy Quick, have really been an inspiration
to this Relay committee. They are great supporters. Tammy’s
friend and boss, Judy, participated in her first Relay last year, and “I
got to see Relay in her eyes and from her point of view and it has changed
me forever.” With tears in her eyes she explained what inspires her
to be a part of Relay For Life, her grandparent’s and other family members
and friends who have fought the cancer battle. Arlene Bearlocher,
Judy, and Collette, Relay Photographer’s are available to take pictures
of any fundraiser or event a team may be hosting. They also work
for St. Mary’s Hospital and chair the St. Mary’s/Orofino hospitals team
and are proud Excalibur sponsors of a $1500. Their donation is wonderful
as it is great to have the medical community as supporters as we are investing
in their patient’s futures. Well, food is always on the agenda for
such an event and Joann Ketchum, from Kamiah, will be our chef for the
Relay. Dinner will be a fabulous homemade chicken noodle soup and
you can also expect all kinds of goodies to go with. Breakfast is
still in the works but with Joanne at the helm we know it will be wonderful.
Lisa Davis, Relay Store Chairperson, said she will have a tent of all kinds
of Relay shirts and gear for you to choose from. There will be items
for children to purchase as well. She invites everyone to stop by
her store at the event in July. Margaret Myers was introduced as
the Cancer Resource Center volunteer coordinator and ivites anyone interested
in seeing what we have available to us to stop by in the Women’s Health
Clinic and see what some of your donation dollars has gone towards.
“We encourage cancer patients needing some information to come in and let
us help.” We also have a driver available to drive a patient to appointments
and would like to have at least one more driver. The center is open
Wednesday’s and Thursday’s from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. so stop by and visit.
The next Relay For Life meetings are set for Monday, March 23 at Oscar’s
with team captains meeting at 5:45 and committee at 6:45p.m. If you
have any questions you can reach Sally at 983-3720 or sallysoltman@mtida.net. |
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