Sanders County celebrates Relay for Life

THOMPSON FALLS - The Sanders County Relay for Life was held at the Thompson Falls High School Friday evening. People from all over convened at the school to participate in the annual event to help raise funds, which would directly go to the American Cancer Society (ACS), which supports cancer research and the support of individuals fighting cancer.

At the event, fliers were passed out, describing the ACS’s impact, just in Montana alone; 68,010 visits are made to cancer.org, 10,838 online cancer survivor network sessions are held, ‘We have contributed to a 20 percent decline in cancer related deaths since the early 1990’s, helping to save more than 1.3 million lives in the United States,’ 3, 211 trips taking patients to treatment, a service provided by ACS, 1,683 cancer specialist calls, 2,033 nights of reduced rate lodging provided during away treatment, and 383 cancer patients who receive financial assistance when insurance would not pay.

This year’s relay featured multiple events to raise money, and it allowed people the chance to show their support for the community of people fighting cancer. The event began with the Survivors Dinner. Famous Dave’s Barbecue served to the cancer survivors first, and then to their caregivers and then to the families and support teams.

Linda Weygint, a survivor, who was eating her dinner. sat with her husband and caregiver, explained what it meant to be at the event and how it felt to be a cancer survivor.

“I didn’t know how wonderful this community was until I got breast cancer... I think I’m very lucky is what I say,” said Weygint.

In conjunction with the dinner, a silent auction was set up in the atrium outside the gymnasium where the dinner was being held.

Sitting outside the gymnasium, Renee Sieben, The organizer and Chairperson of the Sanders County Relay For Life (SCRFL), explained her role in the organization and how, as a group, the organization puts on such a large event every year.

“Being the chair of the SCRFL, so with that I have  several committees below me who handle different parts, from logistics, corporate sponsors, to food, to auction items, and those kind of things.”

Sieben then explained why she puts in so much time helping and leading the event. “The question, ‘Why do I do this?’ we ask in Relay, I say, ‘For me it’s very personal for me  to just to continue to find the cure for cancer and that’s what’s amazing about the American Cancer Foundation Society and doing the Relay, to not just help community, but to help find a cure so no one has to hear the words, ‘You have cancer,’ that’s why I do it.”

After the dinner, the main event commenced. A bannered course was set up in the school parking lot for people to relay around. Words were spoken by multiple people who were up on a platform about the impact cancer has on all people, and what the foundations have contributed in the fight. The survivors who were present were commemorated for their heroism and given a round of applause from all who were there. Once the National Anthem was sung and the Pledge read allowed the relay began.

To begin, the survivors completed the first lap around the course as people cheered for them. During the second lap, their caregivers marched with them, and after that everyone present walked out onto the track and marched around for hours.

As part of the relay, people were allowed to set up team tent stations around the course on the grass. The teams were either groups of individuals who were all there to support a survivor or to commemorate someone lost to cancer. Many of the tents provided either games or had items in the silent auction or had raffle items in their tent to raise money, which they would donate right back into the ACS.

One team and family called the “Dave’s Defenders”, was there to raise money in commemoration of a family member who had passed away from cancer.

“It comes from our dad, Dave, who was diagnosed last July and we lost him this past March to bladder cancer and he was a tough, tough guy and the name just hit us,” said Maggie McGillis.

Another group, The Trout Creek Trekkers, was a collection of individuals from up and down Sanders County and elsewhere from other states who had all come together to show support for the ACS and in commemoration of past members and specifically Dennis Emerson, a member who recently lost his fight with cancer. The group had put in a quilt, afghan, wooden dump truck, pendant, Precious Moments collectibles and a Pampered Chef collection of items for raffle.

During the relay, games were held for team members to compete in, such as a frozen t-shirt competition, a bingo game and a limbo competition.

At one point, Sieben got on the PA system while people were walking and announced that $19,000 had been raised, but as the night progressed, the figure grew higher.

When the sun had finally set, a luminary was held. The names of individuals who had fought cancer, were fighting cancer or had been lost to cancer, were written on white paper bags, placed around the course and lit with candles. The names were read allowed as people silently walked around the course or sat in front of those who were loved ones.

After the luminary, there was a small closing ceremony, and people hugged. The relay course was taken down and the area was cleaned up. The event lasted all the way until midnight. The events are overnight because, as the relay organization describes it, “Cancer never sleeps.”