By Carol McIntire
Editor
June 23, 2009
 |
Cooper Schaar (left) and Michele Rutledge (right) cut the ribbon during opening ceremonies at the 12th annual Relay for Life event Friday evening at the Carroll County Fairgrounds.
Rutledge and Schaar’s parents, Andrew and LeAnnn Schaar, were the featured speakers for the luminaria ceremony later that evening. |
It’s about Hope. It’s about raising research dollars to help find a cure. It’s about programs, patient support, remembering those who have lost the battle and early detection, but it’s also about celebrating the successes and having lots of fun! It’s Relay for Life and it was held last weekend at the Carroll County Fairgrounds.
Even rain, thunderstorms and winds didn’t dampen the spirits of the several hundred people who turned out for the event. When the rain came, the event was moved to drier conditions under the grandstand and the show continued!
For the first time, Relay participants were treated to music and fun of a disc jockey all night (from the 6 p.m. opening ceremonies Friday evening to the closing ceremonies Saturday at 11 a.m.). They responded by playing games, laughing and maybe most importantly, staying up all night and walking as if they were in the shoes of a cancer patient themselves.
It was the 12th Relay for Life event in Carroll County, although the American Cancer Society was celebrating its 25th year of Relay. In those 12 years, the Carroll County Relay has raised over $400,000 for the American Cancer Society. This year’s goal for Carroll County is $30,000. Teams have until Aug. 31 to turn in funds for the event.
Theme of this year’s Relay was “25 Years of Movies” and the 16 teams built off that to create banners, campsites and related items. Teams that won awards included: Best Banner, Mt. Zion Church; Best Campsite, Pups for Life; Best Theme, Order of Eastern Star (OES) Starwalkers; and Spirit Award, OES.
Cancer survivors Cooper Schaar and Michele Rutledge cut the ribbon to open the festivities. Rutledge and Schaar’s parents Andrew and LeAnn Schaar, were the featured speakers for the luminaria ceremony.
The Curves team sponsored a survivor breakfast Saturday (which was free to cancer survivors) morning to get everyone moving once again. Closing ceremonies featured team recognition. Recognized as a gold team for raising between $5,000 and $9,999 was The Free Press Standard. The team raised $5,255.36. Curves was recognized as a Silver team for raising between $2,500 and $4,999. The team raised $2,584.37. Other teams included: The Villa, $1,968.40; Captain Kirk Family and Friends, $1,385.36; Order of Eastern Star (OES) Stawalkers, $1,089.20; Pups for Life, $1,714.28; Our Gang, $807.70; Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, $563.69; Angels of Mercy (Mercy Medical Center), $444.90; Huntington Bank, $295.57; Ohio Department Of Transportation (ODOT), $290; Ossler Family, $179; Aultman, $203; and CC Weekend Warriors, $162. Pups for Life and The Free Press Standard were both recognized for increasing their totals from last year’s figures.
New this year was a Memory Garden, created for Relay visitors to visit, reflect and write messages to their loved ones who lost their battle with cancer. Gotch and Company of Carrollton donated their time to create the garden. Plants used in the garden were auctioned off Saturday during closing ceremonies with half the funds going to Relay.
Co-chairs for the event were Deb Senko and Carol McIntire. |
