Ready for another Relay
The 2017 American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life of Greene County is happening this weekend, and the organizers and coordinators who have devoted countless hours, days, weeks and months preparing for this year’s event are excited … and ready for another successful Relay.
This year’s Relay will be held Saturday, May 6, at the Waynesburg Central High School Raider Field of Pride. The Greene County initiative will be celebrating its 22nd consecutive year of fighting to find a cure for cancer.
In 1996 and 1997, the local Relay initiative was held in conjunction with the Relay event in Washington, and every year since 1998 the Greene County Relay has been held locally. The event has been one of the area’s most successful and longest-running fundraising traditions, raising a staggering total of more than $2.6 million in donations from Greene County, and that number continues to climb.
Steven Gillis, senior community manager for Relay For Life, said everyone involved with this year’s Relay is expecting that level of commitment to continue in 2017.
“Greene County always rallies together for a good cause, and its residents have always gone above and beyond for our Relay,” Gillis said. “It is such an amazing effort from everyone, youngest to the oldest, in our communities. Many thanks to everyone who contributed, volunteered and/or participated to help make this 22nd year possible for Greene County. And I can’t thank enough the event co-leads (Missy Brant, Jessica Sarnoskie and John Paul “JP” Smith”) and the volunteers who serve on committees enough for all of their hard work. They are all amazing.”
The total fundraising goal for this year’s Relay is $192,000. According to Gillis, everyone involved with the local Relay believes that the goal can be realistically reached, thanks to the many people who are committed to the cause.
The local Relay has come a long way in fundraising. During its first year in Greene County, the event raised $32,656, which was considered at the time to be an impressive number. But since then, the event has had numerous years where the event raised over $100,000, $150,000 and even over $200,000.
In fact, the 2016 Relay ended up bringing in $205,697.
In the past, Relay events were always a 24-hourlong event, held all day on a Saturday and continuing through Sunday morning, concluding with a closing ceremony. However, this year’s event will be held on Saturday, May 6, only, from 8 a.m. till midnight.
Gillis said the decision was made to change the hours for a variety of reasons.
“This is just something different we’re going to try this year,” he said. “It seemed that last year the participation tapered off in the early morning Sunday hours, and we wondered if some people felt that holding the event for 24 hours straight was too long, too much. So, it was decided to focus on making the event shorter and making the event more jam-packed.”
This year’s event will begin at 8 a.m., with registration once again beginning at 9 a.m., followed by the opening ceremony at 10 a.m. Following the opening ceremony, cancer survivors will be invited to participate in the traditional survivors’ lap. During last year’s Relay, there were 119 cancer survivors who registered for the lap.
Before the opening ceremony, youths from various school districts will participate in the traditional torch run from the field to the county courthouse and back in time for the opening ceremony. Local and state law enforcement agencies and members of the Patriot’s Dream Riding Association will provide an escort for the runners.
The Relay will be led by five Youth Ambassadors: Addy Morrison of Jefferson, Amy Pouillion of Mt. Morris, Kaiden Wooton of Brownsville, Braedyn Wasko of Carmichaels and Kendal Skrobacs of Connellsville.
This year’s Relay will also once again feature the “Fight Back” ceremony, in which participants will be encouraged to sign a pledge to help in the ongoing fight against cancer. This year, the “Fight Back” ceremony — which will be combined with the “Pack the Track” initiative and the ACS Can campaign — will be held at 6 p.m.
The event will also feature a nonstop schedule of entertainment, including a performance by the Christian band “Still Standing” at 6 p.m., as well as performances by singers Allie Christopher at 11 a.m., Drew Johnson at 12 p.m. and Marshall Fike at 2 p.m.
There will also be disc jockeys, children’s games by Greene County Family Stability, the traditional Relay Queen contest, tent judging, team photos, a demonstration by John Beluschak’s American Judo Hapkido, a “Road to Recovery” race and more.
The evening’s activities will include the traditional luminaria ceremony, which will feature special music and the reading of names displayed on the luminaria bags in honor of those who have fought cancer. The ceremony will begin at 9 p.m. and will be followed by a Catholic Mass service at 10 p.m.
The Relay always features a theme, and this year’s theme will be “Knock Cancer Off the Board.” So far, 26 teams have signed up to set up tents representing the theme, which will include teams adorning their tents with the theme of their favorite board games.
Meanwhile, various groups, agencies, school, churches and individuals have been busy holding a wide array of unique Relay fundraising initiatives on their own.
For example, a group of cancer survivors will once again participate in the annual “Rockin’ Rollin’ Relay” at the Rolling Meadows Nursing Facility. This year’s event has been scheduled for Friday, May 5 beginning at 9 a.m. For the 13th consecutive year, the residents will take turns rocking in chairs at the facility and taking pledges. The event will also feature a Chinese auction and bake sale, as well as vendors who will donate portions of their proceeds to the Relay.
Several other successful Relay fundraisers took place earlier this year, including a Mini-Relay event held by Waynesburg University and the ACS “Daffodil Days” initiative, which sold over 400 flowers and raised $4,680.
Another ongoing successful Relay fundraising initiative this year is the ACS “Paint the Town Purple” sponsor banner campaign. More than 130 banners are currently on display throughout the county, representing the support of the local business community as well as banners honoring loved ones who are battling cancer or who have passed away from the disease.
The banners will be taken down before the Relay’s start and will be displayed around the bleachers at the WCHS field for the entire event.
Gillis said sponsorships for the banner campaign and overall event have raised nearly $35,000.
As the days continue to tick away until May 6, Gillis said he cannot wait for the 2017 event.
“I’m very excited to be working once again with the Relay For Life of Greene County this year,” Gillis said. “I am truly overwhelmed from the amount of community support towards the Relay For Life movement, and I can see that this community has a true passion for finishing the fight against cancer. I cannot wait to see all of the members of the community on May 6 as we rally together to ‘Knock Cancer Off the Board.'”
For more information about the 2017 Relay for Life of Greene County or about the American Cancer Society, call ACS at 1-800-227-2345.