By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Cancer hasn’t kept those involved in the Relay for Life down, so rain in the forecast certainly wasn’t going to scare them off.
The annual Relay for Life for Southern Wood County was held Saturday from 11 to11 at the Wood County Fairgrounds.
Chris Sayler and the Shooters perform.
Liz Bostdorff, one of the chairpersons for the event, said that before the relay kicked off, it had already raised $50,000 toward its $80,000 goal. Fundraising continues through the summer. Speaking at noon she was expecting about 250 to participate.
“Especially for the cancer-fighting community, this is a big event for us.”
Julie Rehard, as a radiology therapist at the Maurer Family Cancer Center, is on the front lines of that fight. “This is another way to support my patients,” she said of her participation in the relay. “It’s a way for the community to come together and show support for all the cancer survivors and those who have cancer.”
Rehard said she’s been participating in Relays for Life since 1993 and in Bowling Green for three. She was on hand as a member of the Wonder Walkers, a team of people affiliated with the Wood County Hospital, both cancer survivors and hospital employees
The team is organized by Cindy Rossow, who is both. She works as a medical coder. In 2005 she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. On Saturday she was getting ready to serve the survivors luncheon.
For her the relay is “a way to raise money to fight cancer.”
Ann Avina
Ann Avina is part of the BG Catholic Community team. A cancer survivor, she doesn’t know how many relays she’s participated in. “I have shirts that go back to ’94,” she said. “That tells you something.”
She was first diagnosed with cancer 22 years ago, she said, and then had a recurrence seven years ago.
Avina said she used to be out on the track walking but with back problems she can’t walk as much. She does make a point, bad back or not, to participate in the opening survivors lap.
Avina said people return with their teams year after year, but there are always some new faces. “You make new friends.”
Bidders peruse silent auction items
And it’s all for a cause that as a survivor of cancer, is close to Avina’s heart. “You’re not going to find a cure without money,” she said.
Bostdorff said among the changes to the relay this year was the decision to offer sponsorships for smaller amounts. Wood County Hospital is again the presenting sponsor, but people could become sponsors for as little as $50 “so anyone can be a sponsor.”
That paid off with the relay exceeding it goal for sponsorships.
After all, Bostdorff said,” it takes many pennies, nickels and dimes to fight cancer.”
