It takes a village to put on a Relay
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| Survivors, caregivers take the first lap at the Relay For Life. (Photo by Larry Kessler) |
The Relay For Life
of Greater Attleboro’s 25th annual event held June 9-10 at Norton
High School in Norton, MA, is closing in on raising $50,000 to benefit the
American Cancer Society, but the event’s success wouldn’t have been possible
without the assistance and generosity of many, many people, groups and
businesses.
Those deserving thanks are included in this column, which appeared in The Sun Chronicle
of Attleboro, MA, on Wednesday, June 28, 2023. The link to the column, as it appears
on the newspaper’s website is: https://www.thesunchronicle.
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The Relay For Life of Greater Attleboro, a team fundraiser for the American
Cancer Society, has always been an event close to my heart ever since doing my
first one in June 2000. I was the co-captain of The Sun Chronicle’s team that
year, the second one held, and I’ve been involved in every other one since.
The event has always been deeply personal, as dozens of relatives and friends
have been affected by cancer over the years. That’s why, besides my participation,
I inevitably wrote about the relays, because it’s been important to tell
people’s stories about this insidious disease.
Cancer is a democratic (small “d”) illness that affects everyone, regardless of
race, religion, political viewpoints, ethnic background or gender, and
organizing the event requires people to put other differences aside and
concentrate on doing your part to eradicate cancer.
That’s something I saw firsthand when, after retiring from The Sun Chronicle in
2017, I joined the event’s organizing committee. Putting on the event takes a
lot of hard work, and that was especially true in the days leading up to June
9-10, when we celebrated the local relay’s 25th anniversary at
Norton High School. The challenges were many, culminating with a severe
thunderstorm pounding the high school an hour before the opening ceremony,
forcing us to relocate to the cafeteria and to reshuffle our events.
I’m happy to report that, thanks to the single-minded focus of the committee
members and our longtime Chair Barbara Benoit, we pulled off another successful
event. With donations being accepted through the end of July, the relay has to
date raised close to $50,000, thanks to the involvement of 134 participants, 21
teams, about 30 survivors and many volunteers.
But the success of the relay, as well as February’s “Creating Awareness” art
exhibit at the Attleboro Arts Museum during the Winter Night Festival, wouldn’t
have been possible without the help of many individuals, organizations and
businesses. The relay’s organizing committee would like to thank:
* The Norton School Department, Norton School Committee, Superintendent Joseph
Baeta and Wade Lizotte, the director of facilities, for the use of Norton High
School’s new turf field and track. We’d also like to thank the school’s
custodians for their assistance when we had to move the opening ceremony to the
school’s cafeteria due to the thunderstorm.
* Our community partners --- Attleboro Arts Museum Executive Director Mim Brooks
Fawcett and Attleboro Public Library Director Amy Rhilinger and their staffs
--- for working with us on the “Creating Awareness” luminary art project, and
for putting the luminaries on display for more than two months at the library.
* The 18 artists, for creating the luminary bags, and for agreeing to donate
the proceeds to the cancer society from the silent auction held at the relay.
* Our inspiring guest speakers --- cancer survivor Jonathan Gardner, former
longtime North Attleboro state Rep. Kevin Poirier and state Rep. Jim Hawkins,
D-Attleboro. Their words were uplifting on a night when the storm could have
dampened people’s enthusiasm.
* Disc jockey Joshua Brown of Purple Wave Entertainment, who donated his services.
* Waters Church of North Attleboro, for again providing the food for the annual
survivors’ dinner, and Flaky Crust Pies of Norton, for donating pies for dessert.
* Bagpiper and Norton Police Officer Jake Dennett, for leading the silent lap after
the luminary ceremony.
* Sensata Technologies
of Attleboro, for organizing a canned goods drive. The cans were used to anchor
the luminaries and were donated to three area food pantries.
* Briggs Nursery of North Attleboro, for donating use of the carts used to move items
during the relay.
* Sturdy Memorial Hospital’s Healthy Steps, for leading an exercise program.
* Team Ladybugs, for holding Saturday morning’s breakfast.
* The Norton House of Pizza, for
donating 10 percent of its sales on the opening day of the relay to the Mrs. Peacock's Sole
Squad team.
* Auston Ricketts of Attleboro’s Double ACS, Peter Gay of North TV, WARA radio’s
Paul Healy and The North Star Reporter, for publicizing both events.
* The Sun Chronicle, for again being our media sponsor and for publicizing and
covering our events in February and June.
The committee thanks everyone who helped and is looking forward to the 26th
annual event in 2024.
Larry Kessler, a retired Sun Chronicle local news editor, can
be reached at larrythek65@gmail.com. He blogs at larrytheklineup.blogspot.com
Congrats to you and everyone Involved in the Relay! Truly a labor of love! — Bill S
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