Nevada's annual Relay for Life set for Friday

Nevada Daily Mail

Relay for Life is ready to run once again Friday, July 27.

The American Cancer Society's annual event, part of the Society's cancer awareness and fund-raising campaign, has been part of the Vernon County calendar for 13 years.

New activities and new features will join old favorites this year at the 2007 Relay for Life. Leonette Hammontree will be chairing the event and she plans to make the event fresh this year.

"I thought it was time to have some changes," Hammontree said. "We've been doing the same things for quite awhile and I thought it would be nice to see something different."

One of the differences will be food booths offering a variety of comestibles for the public.

"We've had people cooking on the Square during the walk before," Hammontree said. "But it's always just been for their team. This year we'll have booth's in the middle parking spaces where people can buy different things."

Another change this year will be the fact the Square will be closed off for the event.

"Closing off the Square will make it a lot safer," Hammontree said. "We'll allow handicapped parking and parking for participants who will be there the whole night but other than that we'll keep cars out."

Hammontree said more youth teams would be taking part this year.

"We have over 25 teams participating this year," Hammontree said. "We've got more youth teams than before. Last year we only had one youth team, this year we have three."

Tethered hot air balloon rides will be available during the relay and a special treat during the auction will be the chance to bid on a special balloon ride with a 7 a.m. take off.

During the relay, team members take turns walking laps from darkness to daylight, symbolizing their refusal to stop fighting until cancer has been stopped. While that teammate is doing laps, other members on the team can rest, listen to the entertainment, enjoy the fellowship of others, or enjoy some refreshments while waiting their turn around the Square.

Relay has always featured entertainment and this year is no different. Four local leading citizens; State Representative Barney Fisher, Vernon County Assessor Cherie Roberts, Benton Principal Misti Rainey and Heartland Behavioral Health CEO Mike Ham, will be auctioned off as targets for pie throwing. A talent show will feature members of teams singing and lip synching. Matt Harper will entertain the crowd after the talent show until midnight.

One of the highlights of the evening is the luminaria ceremony, held to honor cancer survivors and to remember loved ones lost to cancer. Luminaria line the route of the walk and are lighted and left burning during the night.

Relay for Life began in 1985 when Dr. Gordy Klatt, a colorectal surgeon in Tacoma, Wash., did a lone 24 hour walk/run to raise money for the American Cancer Society. He raised $27,000 in his first effort. The following year 220 supporters on 19 teams joined him in the overnight event. Since then Relay for Life has spread to 3,800 communities in the United States and eight foreign countries.