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Celebrate, remember, fight back at Relay for Life
To the editor:
The American Cancer Society's 2014 North Mississippi County Relay for Life is a community celebration where groups of friends, families, neighbors and coworkers form teams and gather to celebrate the lives of those who have had cancer, remember those lost and fight back against a disease that takes too much.
This year's event will be held on Friday, June 6, at the Arkansas Aeroplex. The event will kick off at 6 p.m. Friday night with live entertainment by various local talent groups. Cancer survivor registration begins at 5 p.m. under the Survivor Tent. The Relay for Life event will run from 6 p.m. until midnight.
Cancer survivors (anyone who has ever been diagnosed with cancer) from the North Mississippi County community area are invited to walk the first lap of the American Cancer Society Relay for Life Survivor Lap to celebrate their victory over cancer. The Survivor Lap will be at 7 p.m. Each cancer survivor that registers will receive a free T-shirt and a bag of complimentary gifts donated by all the event teams.
There is no cost to participate and we encourage all cancer survivors to join us at this event.
The American Cancer Society Relay for Life Luminaria Ceremony is done in remembrance of those lost to cancer and honors cancer survivors. This ceremony takes place at 9 p.m. Individuals or companies can make contributions in honor or in memory of an individual, and a luminary will be lit at the relay event. Each dedicated luminaria will be placed around the track where family members and friends begin their walk from darkness into light; a journey which symbolizes a cancer patients' movement through the various stages of their treatment.
Luminarias may be purchased by calling William King at Farmer's Bank and Trust, at 870-763-8101. They may also be purchased the night of Relay. The cost is $5 and all proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.
There are 12 teams participating in this year's Relay for Life event. They are Blytheville Middle School, Diffine Family Practice, Farmer's Bank, Farmers in the Dell, Faye's Fabulous Friends, Jen's Purple Dragons, Hays Supermarkets, Nucor, Southern Bancorp, TMK Ipsco Cancer Crusaders, Team Marcello and Westminster Village.
A special thanks to all these teams for all the hard work and dedication. Most of the teams have worked hard all year on various fundraisers and their efforts are greatly appreciated.
A special "thanks" to all of our sponsors this year. They are Nibco, Nucor-Yamato/Nucor Castrip, Tenaris, TMK Ipsco, Dever Electric, Temps Plus, Systems Contracting, Hays Supermarkets, MCEC, Southern Bancorp, Westminster Village, Lammers Farms, Dr. Scott Johnson, P.A. Vision Care, h.i.s. Ministries, Drew Bevill Lawn Care, LLC, Dr. T.E. Westbrook Jr./The Gentle Dental Place, Tim and Christie Patterson and Sears/Dave Fieber. We sincerely appreciate your generous support to Relay for Life.
I also want to thank Jeff Kennen, Herb Burnett and Steve Southard and their team for all the logistics work. They do an outstanding job in coordinating everything. Many thanks also to the entire Relay committee. Each member plays a very important role and without them, none of this would be possible.
Many thanks to the Blytheville Courier News and Sudbury Broadcasting Group for all the support they give to the Relay for Life in reporting all the fundraisers, meetings, and general event coverage.
I invite all of you to come out and join us for this fun-filled evening. There will be lots of entertainment, games and food for all. I hope you will take the time to visit each of the team tents and let those folks know how much you appreciate all that they do in the fight against cancer.
Celebrate, remember, fight back -- There is no finish line until there is a cure!