We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give,” Winston Churchill said.

And what a life we have in our rural Miss-Lou community….judging by the amount of people giving of their time, money, ideas, compassion, encouragement and overall support for our recent 2016 Relay For Life. Even in the midst of job losses, declining incomes and hard times that have hit our community during this past year we joined together to fight back against this awful monster we call cancer.

I want to thank every single person that had a part in making our Relay for Life event one of the top fund-raisers for cancer support in the nation. Thank you to the town of Vidalia that provided us with our permanent site to use each year taking away the stress of “where will we have the Relay this year?” and it’s employees for making sure the grounds were ready with water and electricity hook-ups for each site.

Thank you to each team member that spent countless hours decorating, preparing food and entertainment for this event. So many teams showed such enthusiasm as we joined together to celebrate the survivors and remember those taken way too soon. From an Egyptian themed site to “Welcome to Our Neck of the Woods,” “Strike out Cancer,” “Too Hot For Cancer!” “Surfing for A Cure,” “Cast Your Vote,” “The Wall of Names” displaying names of so many honored and remembered. These were just a few of the many great themes and I’m sorry I can’t name them all but I thank every team that encouraged us to never give up the fight.

Where else can you participate in a human foosball game, shoot BB guns at moving targets, slide down a Slip N Slide, win a cake in the cake walk or walk away with a gold fish? Thank you to everyone that helped make this fun for both adults and children of all ages.

And the food! Chicken teriyaki wraps, sausage dogs, hot dogs, fish plates, pizza, pulled pork sandwiches, popcorn, funnel cakes and home made desserts and even fried bologna sandwiches, just to name a few. I was thankful we had a track to walk laps around after trying so many good food items!

Thank you to anyone that helped prepare or purchased food from the many fundraisers held throughout the year and during the night of Relay. Thank you for purchasing the luminaries and torches that lit the track bearing the names of your loved ones as we walked around it.

Thank you to each person that donated an item for the silent auction or put in a bid for one of them. I saw some happy winners walking away with some awesome gifts!

Thank you to those that provided the sound systems, stages and great music. Thank you for the great meal once again provided for the cancer survivors. I’m not calling out names in fear of leaving someone out, but you know who you are!

Thank you to those that provided a meeting place, food and desserts for our monthly team captain meetings. And thank you to the employers that allowed their employees time off to attend these meetings and extra time to prepare their sites the day of Relay.

Thank you to those that helped print the posters, run ads in the newspaper or give shout outs on the radio about our fundraisers. Thank you for letting me hang one of the posters in your place of business helping to promote participation in Relay for Life.

Thank you to the event organizers and awesome longtime members of the RFL committee. Being one of the newer members of this team I am amazed with the great job you each have been doing year after year and so honored to be a part of it. I have a lot to learn!

And most of all thank you survivors and caregivers for showing up to walk the survivors lap and reminding us of why we will not give up this fight. Thank you to each person that shared their story of hope and encouragement. We all have our own reasons for relaying year after year and sharing these stories brings our community together in a way that cannot be explained. You just have to experience it!

I hope you realize how much your efforts are appreciated and if you missed this year’s Relay please mark your calendar for the first Friday night of every May in the years to come. We are already preparing for next year’s awesome Relay for Life and we need you to be a part of it.

 

Ramee Thompson is a member of the Miss-Lou Relay for Life committee.