Annual Relay for Life set for tomorrow

By LYNETTE SOWELL

Cove Leader-Press

Tomorrow starting at 2 p.m. until Sunday 8 a.m. at the S.C. Lee Junior High track, Copperas Cove will hold its annual Relay for Life, which helps raise funds for the American Cancer Society. The ACS depends on Relay For Life events throughout the country to raise money in its battle against cancer. Teams will set up tents and canopies in the center of the track, and the teams walk the track for the 18-hour event. Lap themes include zaniness like Strut Your Tutu, Crazy Hat or Hair, Conga Line, Nascar Gear, Red Light/Green Light (at 3 a.m. Sunday), Three Legged Challenge, Make A New Friend, and more. This year’s Relay For Life is also hosting its first-ever Relay for Life pageant, which starts Saturday at 5 p.m., with registration beginning at 3 p.m. Categories range from infants to adults, with a special cancer survivor category open up for men and women. But it’s not just about raising money and having fun. The teams participating in the event will tell people. The event celebrates the lives of those who’ve fought cancer and won, and also remembers those who’ve fought their last battle. Residents are encouraged to stop by the relay to check out the various teams’ raffles and sales of items to raise funds for the American Cancer Society. Many of the teams, such as John Wayne’s Posse, have held fundraisers leading up to tomorrow’s relay, like events sponsored by local businesses such as Candy Outfitters, where a portion of the profits during a certain time would go to the team. Anyone can even walk a few laps around the track to support the teams. The relay will have several special events throughout the event, including a cancer survivors’ lap at 2:30 p.m. followed by the caregivers’ lap, then as the luminarias walk at 9 p.m., when the stadium lights will be dimmed and participants will walk with the glow of luminarias to light their way, in memory of those who finished their battle with cancer. At this point, the current total raised by the Copperas Cove Relay for Life is $19,563.45 and growing, to a goal of raising $30,000 to include Saturday’s event.During Tuesday night’s Copperas Cove city council meeting, the council approved a proclamation by Mayor John Hull for the month of April 2015 to be designated “Relay For Life Month.” The proclamation reads, “Relay For Life represents the hope that those lost to cancer will never be forgotten, that those who face cancer will be supported, and that one day, cancer will be eliminated.”