Big changes coming to 2019 Relay For Life

By: 
Kate Wehlann, Staff Writer

Big changes are in store for the 2019 Washington County Relay for Life and organizers hope they will make the event even more successful. The 2018 Relay increased fundraising by almost $14,000 over 2017.

Next year’s Relay will take place much earlier – June 1 – and will be held at West Washington Schools. The event will also be held only on Saturday, starting around 11 a.m., instead of overnight.

“It will be different, but a lot of people from out at West Washington and that area have big teams and it’s flat, so I think it will be nice for survivors,” said organizer Stacey Gilbert. “They’re super-excited … I agree [with the symbolism], the walking all night and it’s like the fight against cancer — you fight and you think you can’t fight anymore and then the morning comes and you get your second wind … The only thing certain in life is it changes, so we’ll try something different.”

Co-organizer Kathy Miller said the change will reflect participation. “We’ve also had a lot of drop-off on Saturday mornings and last year, we tried ending it a little earlier and we didn’t see a big upswing in the morning, so this is a bit of a change. We’ll try it and see what happens and if it doesn’t work as well as we hope, then we can tweak it again next year.” 

Organizers said West Washington Superintendent Keith Nance came to them with the idea of hosting Relay.

“They announced it at the home game last weekend and the crowd went wild, so they are going to support this majorly,” said Heather Knapp, a member of the Relay organizing team. “Everyone at the school is behind this.”

Brad Gilbert, a Walmart team member who also helps plan the event, said, “It’s an opportunity for more fundraising that day. I think this will open us up to more activities we can do because there will be less restrictions.” 

Miller stressed the Relay is a county event.

“Also, it is Washington County Relay For Life, not Salem Relay For Life, so there’s potential for next year to maybe move to Eastern and then start rotating it,” she said. “Just some new ideas to liven things up a little bit.”

Gilbert said, “Keith Nance said, ‘I guarantee you, we’ll show you a good time.’ There will be somber moments, but we want to focus on the smiles and the tears.”

Stacey Gilbert said Salem Superintendent Lynn Reed was always very supportive of Relay and continues to be.

What do you think of the changes? Vote in this week's Reader Poll here!

The American Cancer Society’s Kathy Toburen said during the kick-off meeting Thursday night last year’s total came to $82,880.94, well over the 2017 total of $68,966. 

“That’s awesome!” she said. “Very, very awesome. [Others at the ACS] are very proud of you, I can tell you that right now.”

Miller said previous years took in-kind donations into account — things like signage and other costs. Miller said the event would have raised well over $100,000 if those donations had been factored into the total. “We get a lot of things in-kind,” said Gilbert. 

“You guys are doing awesome and because of the year rolling over early and I had to count what has already accumulated since then, you’re already at $10,000,” said Toburen, who added that Washington County is now ranked #12 in the state.

“I feel so privileged to be a part of this Relay,” said Toburen.

The top five teams from the past year were recognized at the meeting — Walmart ($15,453), Sugar Creek ($15,445), St. Vincent Hospital ($9,065), Pioneers of Hope ($5,842) and GKN ($4,404). Because they raised more than $10,000 apiece, Walmart and Sugar Creek received the Team Excellence Award.

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