Published: May 12, 2008 11:26 am         

Cancer suffers a $47K setback

Annual event raises tens of thousands of dollars, remembers those who have died of the disease and salutes the survivors

By Lacie Morrison
lmorrison@mineralwellsindex.com

They came. They relayed. They remembered. They raised more than $47,000.

Hundreds of people attended this year’s Palo Pinto County Relay For Life, an annual fundraiser to raise money for the American Cancer Society while recognizing and honoring the county residents who are cancer survivors as well as those who lost their lives to cancer.

“I think the turnout was great,” said chairman Vicki Bowman. “It seemed like we had more people come out.”

She noted that this year’s preliminary total is approximately $47,000 raised for the American Cancer Society, $2,000 more than the goal set in January.

The event took place May 2-3 at the Jackie Harvey Track Complex at Mineral Wells High School.

Hosted at the Mineral Wells High School track Friday night, a variety of campsites around the track offered an assortment of games fitting with the theme of “Carnival for a Cure.” A dunking booth, a jail-and-bail and a jump house were a few of the games and activities available while participants could buy sno cones, glow-in-the-dark necklaces or funnel cakes and hot dogs.

After dark, the Luminaria Ceremony, a recognizable feature at Relay For Life events, was conducted with committee members reading a list of 587 names, each representing someone who was or is affected by cancer. More than 700 luminaria bags lined the interior of the track, decorated with names, flowers, stickers, photographs and feathers.

Wofford Krew’s Dusty Putman said her favorite part of Relay this year was the luminaria ceremony. She said she liked that instead of having someone go around the track and light the candles, people were called on specifically. The committee asked for those who were the parent of someone with cancer, or a sibling, or other relation to a cancer patient or victim to light candles.

“I thought that was pretty neat. It made it more personal,” Putman said.

A variety of musicians – from Mike Forbess, Southern Heritage, Sidecar Inferno and a DJ – kept the songs going and the participants entertained as they walked the track until the wee hours of Saturday morning.

Other events throughout the night included a frozen T-shirt contest that tested the rapidity of participants in thawing the shirts to put them on and a volleyball game. Tough volleyball competition from the teams revealed this year’s winners as the Block Stars: Colton Taylor, Taylor Sanchez, Dylan Bowden, Armanda Castillo, Felipe Ramirez and Cody Lewis.

The midnight entertainment brought a lot of laughter and more donations for Relay For Life – the second annual Mr. Relay contest. This year’s winner was “Ginger Snap,” a tall redhead with a lot of flair.

“I want to thank the little people and the children,” gushed Ginger Snap, also known as Nathan Henderson, after his win. Henderson, part of the “Booby Brigade” Relay team, said he plans on being back next year.

Fellow “Mr. Relay” competitor J. Lonnie Stafford was a member of the Mineral Wells High School’s faculty Relay team. He credited the high school principal, John Kuhn, who was a “Mr. Relay” contestant last year, for getting him to compete.

“It was fun,” Stafford said. “I think it’s [Relay For Life] a good cause. My grandfather died of … cancer. I wanted to do it in his honor.”

When asked what his favorite part of Relay was, he replied, “I think the whole thing was really neat. I enjoyed the whole event.”

Like numerous other participants and attendees, he noticed, “It was a little bit bigger than last year.”

First time attendee and committee member Beth Watson remarked, “I was really impressed with how well it came together. It was really nice. … I thought the committee did a good job with the activities throughout the night. There was a lot of people out there.”

She added, “I feel like there were a lot of people who went all out – there were people still walking at 6 a.m.”

Bowman said, “I want to thank all the committee members for their hard work and dedication to the American Cancer Society. I’d also like to say a huge thank you to the many sponsors who helped make this possible.”

A wrap-up party is scheduled on May 20 at 6 p.m. at the Mineral Wells Chamber of Commerce for the teams to share about their experiences, see a few photos from the event and get a final update on the money raised this year.