By Mary Owen
At the Stayton Relay for Life on July 11, Peggy Wilson walked the survivor lap, ate a burger, and then joined teammates for another hour around the Regis High School track.
“Everyone was so energetic,” said Wilson, a cancer-survivor with the Stayton Cooperative Telephone Company team.
Wilson’s team was the top money-raising team for the third consecutive year, earning more than $7,000 for the American Cancer Association, a nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer.
“Cancer has touched a lot of people in our community, so this fund-raising event is truly an eye-opener for those that attend,” said Wilson, who walked her first Relay for Life in March 2007 following surgery, chemotherapy and radiation for anal cancer.
Wilson says she walks the relay to support and honor all those who have been touched by the devastating disease – victims, family, friends, co-workers, others.
SCTC was just one of 32 teams which together raised more than $83,000, an amount that is expected to grow as donations continue to come in, said organizer Sue Harteloo. Weyerhaeuser of Stayton fielded five teams for the relay, more than any other business sponsor, Harteloo said.
More funds were raised via a silent auction and the Relay store, Harteloo added.
“We raised more than $1,300 from the auction and $600 from the store,” she said of the events Relay for Life organizers plan to repeat next year.
Another $7,500 was raised online, said organizer Marilyn Kendall.
“That’s not bad for our first year also,” she said.
Harteloo said more than half the 400-plus participants were cancer survivors. Collin Callsen, 9, who is recuperating from Burkitt’s Lymphoma, is one very special survivor, she said.
“We’re grateful to the Callsen family and (mom) Debby for being there to speak,” she said. “We’re also grateful Collin’s health is improving.”
Collin, who underwent a bone-marrow transplant recently when other treatments failed to stop the disease, is a boy with “a great attitude,” his mom Debby said.
“He loves life,” she said. “He is a great kid, and we love him so much.”
Collin’s battle is not over yet, and the Relay for Life folks know, many first-hand, that raising funds for cancer research is an important part of the battle for him and others with cancer.
“Each of us has been touched by cancer – a friend, a family member,” Kendall said.
The Relay for Life, she said, offers each a chance to support and honor “those who are fighting the battle, those who have won the fight, and to remember those who have lost the battle.”
Kendall credited Jennifer Stutzman for creating the PowerPoint presentation that listed all the honorees of the Luminary Ceremony. The tiny lanterns represented survivors and those who lost their lives to cancer, and dotted the Regis High School track.
“The names scrolled across a screen for people to read,” she said. “The track was totally lit all night by the luminaries.”
Kendall also credited Northwest Natural Gas for doing “an excellent job with the barbecue.”
Harteloo, who will chair next year’s relay, is already looking for volunteers. For information or to volunteer, contact her at [email protected].
