Relay for Life organizers encourage teams to sign up

This year will be 25th edition

Posted 5/18/22

It may be a few months away, but area residents take note: The Relay for Life of Audrain County will be held Saturday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. on the Mexico downtown square. The six-hour fundraising event …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Relay for Life organizers encourage teams to sign up

This year will be 25th edition

Posted

It may be a few months away, but area residents take note: The Relay for Life of Audrain County will be held Saturday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. on the Mexico downtown square. The six-hour fundraising event benefits the American Cancer Society, offering food, games and activities for all ages.

Admission is free.

The Relay for Life kickoff soup supper was held Tuesday, April 26 at Color Me Bleu for individuals planning to have a team. Additionally, the event provided information to those interested in forming a team and in general, gave insights on how to get involved in the Relay. Cancer survivors ate for free. About 30 people attended.

Guest speaker Heather Wolters shared her story as her husband’s caregiver until he passed away. The kickoff also provided the setting as organizers announced the date, time, place and theme of the event. With a theme of “Past, Present, Future-25 Years Still Fighting,” the Relay is marking a milestone.

“This is our 25th anniversary,” said Relay spokesperson Nancy Early.

Other topics discussed?

“We spoke about luminary, fundraising, survivorship and sponsorship,” said Early. “And we explained how to form a team and that it is not too late, clear up to the event.”

Relay has also issued a way of encouraging teams to sign up early, with a recruitment challenge, incentivizing teams to sign up before June 1.
While Relay is just a dot on the horizon, events line the schedule and teams are busy.

Relayers honored and celebrated survivors with a game night Friday, May 6.

“We will have the Survivor’s Dinner with their caregiver on Tuesday, July 26,” said Early. “The teams will be selling luminaries up until the event. And of course, the teams will be doing numerous fundraisers up until the Relay.”

A roster of teams has already signed up: Event Leadership Team, Friends Fighting As One, Girls Night Out, Audrain Community Hospital Lifesavers, Astra Club of Mexico, St. Brendan Navigators, Southside Soldiers, Pin Oaks Living Center, and Cancer Crusaders.

Early sign-up is appreciated, but it’s (almost) never too late.

“You can form a team up until the event,” Early said.

A perennial Relayer, Early explains how she became involved.

“Dr. Steve Taylor was instrumental in getting me involved with Relay For Life,” she said. “In 1998 when they started the event he asked me numerous times to form a team and come out and celebrate. I had every excuse in the book as to why I couldn’t form a team.”

Life-changing events stepped in.

“My grandmother was admitted to the hospital a few days before the Relay,” Early recalls. “On July 10, 1998 - the day of the first Relay in Audrain County - my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. What else could I do but gather my kids and friends and head out to MMA (Missouri Military Academy) for the Relay For Life.”

For Early, the Relay is a tribute to her loved ones.
“I Relay for my dad, my grandmothers, my grandfather, numerous other family members and many friends,” she said.

Relay for Life 2022 promises to have lots of entertainment other activities throughout the evening, to be announced. Other keys dates on the calendar are Quarters For A Cure Quarter Auction, Saturday, June 11 at St. Brendan’s Parish Hall; Music Jam on July 23 at the VFW; and July 26, a Survivor’s Dinner.

This year’s goal is $35,000.

“We are very excited about this year and the continuing support that our community gives,” Early said. “We always welcome new event leadership members to help with the planning and of course we would encourage you to gather co-workers, friends, family members and put together a team. Make sure if you are a survivor that you get registered and let us know if you need to purchase luminary.”

Nancy Early can be reached by phone/text at 573-721-6247 or email nbakerearly1977@gmail.com. Information is also available online at relayforlife.org/audrainmo or on Facebook, @audrainfl.

Relay for Life represents the hope that those lost to cancer will never be forgotten and that those who face cancer will be supported and that one day, cancer will be eliminated.


X