Relay for Life set for inaugural run this Friday

By Ken Johnston
Editor

Rainy River’s first ever Relay for Life has success written all over it already! Expecting 10 teams the organizing committee has been blown away by the number of people who have signed up so far!
There are 20 teams registered with 250 people attached to them! “Our goal was 10 teams. I thought there was not a chance that we would get here!” said co-chair Andrew Hartnell.
His sister and co-chair Missy Jenson added, “I didn’t expect the reach the event is having. We have teams from Devlin, Winnipeg, Morson and other places!”
They attribute the reach to the family factor. “People who live here are getting tremendous support from their families both here and from afar. Many are coming home for it!”
The first ever Rainy River Relay for Life will begin this Friday evening at 7 p.m. Just prior to the relay, there will be a survivor dinner held. At present they have 16 people registered, each of which can bring a guest. The roast beef dinner is free for cancer survivors and their guest and is being held in the Riverview School gym. “To register for it call me (Missy) at 852-3701 by Wednesday morning.”
Opening ceremonies will begin at 7 p.m. Two guest speakers, Margret Saville and Taylor Wiedenhoeft will speak to the teams and the public present. At 8 p.m. there will be a Survivor Victory lap celebrating their victories over cancer.
At 8:30 p.m.there will be a team parade and from there teams will be expected to have at least one person walking at any given time until 7 a.m. the next morning. They will walk around the Riverview School track.
At 10 p.m. another guest speaker, Kim Desserre will speak and the Luminaries will be lit. Luminary sales have been slow to date with less than 100 being purchased at $5 each. “Our goal was 2,500,” said Hartnell. However, they are confident that sales will be strong at the event. Luminaries are purchased in memory of people, often family or friends that have had cancer. They are lit and placed around the track for the night. They can be purchased this week at the Post Office or Gillon’s Insurance.
There will also be other guest speakers throughout the night as well as team competitions. “We are awarding points for various things throughout the night,” said Jenson. At the end of the event a top team will be crowned and receive a trophy. Points will be awarded for competitions and other things like each camp’s decor. “We had a captains’ meeting the other night and 19 of 20 were there. They each received one point for their team’s attendance!” said Hartnell.
The fund raising goal of each team was set at $1,200. Some teams have exceeded that already with the top five teams listed on line having collectively already raised over $7,000! “And that does not include many of the written pledges. It is just the on line stuff!” said an excited Hartnell!
A stage will also be set up inside the track where several local performers have been lined up to entertain the teams and the public. The public can come out and cheer for their favourite teams, enjoy the entertainment, purchase luminaries or other goods to help donate towards cancer research, or better yet, help run the event.
Both Jenson and Hartnell are concerned about the number of volunteers they have. With so many people on teams their volunteer pool is smaller than normal. “We may offer points to team members that volunteer during the event,” said Jenson. However, if people that are not on a team would like to help they can call Grace Seguin or see her at the RR Post Office,” said Jenson. “We need everyone’s help!”
They also need things like cups, plates and various other logistical items. If you can help call Andrew at the town office 852-3978.
At midnight there will be a participants supper of sloppy joes. In the morning there will be a breakfast at 6:30 and the closing ceremonies where the top teams will be recognized!
There is so much going on that night that teams and the public are sure to have a good time raising money for this very important cause.