Tonight, our community will join together to battle an invisible foe. The enemy is tiny, microscopic even, but formidable.

Cancer touches practically every family in the area.

As the sun begins to set over the Vidalia Riverfront tonight, a diverse group of people will come together with one common cause — to raise money for cancer research.

The 18th annual Miss-Lou Relay for Life officially kicks off at 6 p.m. today, but the volunteers behind the event have been busy for months.

The relay is among the most well organized events in the region. Significant effort and organization on the part of the volunteers make the relay a well-oiled machine.

Closing in on nearly 20 years of fund raising, the relay is also nearly at another milestone.

With a solid fundraising effort tonight, the local event may top a total of $3 million raised. That’s an amazing feat of giving for such a relatively small community and a feat in which all who participate should take pride.

Excellent measures of a community’s quality include how it comes together when others are in need and how generous its residents are. The Natchez-Vidalia area earns top marks in both with its relay efforts, which have consistently ranked among the top performing even in the nation for a community its size.

We wish the relay the best of luck. The weather is forecast to be clear, but a little on the cool side. It should be a great night for fun and fundraising.