The American Cancer Society recently confirmed what we’ve known for a long, long time — our community has an amazingly large heart.

The Miss-Lou Relay for Life fundraising event started with relatively humble beginnings in 1995. That first year, the local Relay was in Natchez at the Natchez Mall parking lot. The goal was simply, but the cause was sobering — have fun, celebrate life and raise money for cancer research.

Since that time the Miss-Lou Relay has grown in size and scope, but the underlying mission has never changed, nor has the enormously generous heart of the organizers and participants who have kept the event going for more than 22 years.

Last week, local Relay organizers learned that after years and years of being in the top ranks for giving per capita, the Miss-Lou event had become the top event.

That’s an amazing feat on the surface, but dig a little deeper and realize that since 1995 when the Relay first started here, our community has lost a number of significant, sizable businesses that were contributing either directly or through their workforce.

Despite that, our community’s giving has been unceasing.

Fundraising teams morphed from corporate ones into small groups, churches, schools and the like.

The Relay did not skip a beat, despite the strong economic headwinds it faced.

That is a testament to two critical things — the hardworking volunteers who make the Relay a success year after year and the hundreds and hundreds of people who generously donate to the cause.

We are deeply thankful for and proud of both groups.