Although Relay for Life can be a somber event, with the memory of those lost to cancer weighing heavy on participants’ minds, organizer Dale Riser hopes to start this year’s proceedings with a celebration.
The Relay for Life kickoff event will take place Thursday at North Greenwood Baptist from 5:30-7 p.m., complete with birthday cake.
“It will be one big birthday party. It’s a celebration of lives that we’ve lost and survivors,” said Riser.
The kickoff will feature door prizes and slide shows and will feature short speeches by cancer survivors such as Betty DuBard.
Riser, a cancer survivor himself, will also speak. He said the event will be geared toward education and fundraising.
“The community is not always the most health-conscious,” he said. “We’ll have brochures about the disease and materials for early detection.”
Fundraising is a crucial element of the event, he said.
“A lot of people wonder why we start so early, but we get the ball rolling so that our final push comes in February and March,” he said.
People are wary of donating money to a cause that isn’t local, but “there’s not cancer research in Greenwood, so the money can’t really stay local,” Riser said.
The kickoff will also serve as an opportunity for individuals and teams to sign up for Relay for Life, which is scheduled for April 12, 2013.
In the past, the event has been attended by the same companies, such as Viking Range Corp. and Greenwood Leflore Hospital. Riser said he would like to see more businesses and church groups participate this year.
This will be Leflore County’s seventh year hosting the event, but Riser is a brand new organizer. He wants to use his own experience as a cancer survivor to guide other people to making healthy decisions, he said.
• Contact Jeanie Riess at 581-7235 or jriess@gwcommonwealth.com.
