Relay for Life exceeds goal

A wrap-up meeting for 2009 Grove City Relay for Life participants will be held Monday, July 27, and people who heard good news at the end of this year's event in spite of a bad economy will be in for even better news, according to Kelly Cotton, who just concluded a third year as co-chairwoman.

At the closing ceremonies of the latest edition of the 18-hour event, which began on June 19, Cotton was able to announce that, after expenses, just over $125,000 had been raised by the 52 teams walking the track at Grove City High School.

That was the goal and Cotton, for one, had sincere doubts it would be reached, given widespread worries about economic conditions.

"I think this year I would have accepted it if we didn't reach our goal," she admitted last week.

As of last week, however, that figure had climbed to $134,090, and Cotton is hoping to be able to report an even higher amount at the July 27 wrap-up session.

"We continue to get money in; we continue to get online donations," Cotton said.

"I just couldn't imagine that we would reach our goal and go over our goal," she added.

Due to cutbacks at South-Western City Schools, this year's annual Survivors Dinner had to be moved to the Grove City Church of the Nazarene, not far from the Grove City High School track, where the local Relay has been held since its inception. Cotton was concerned that the change, and threat of bad weather, might cut down on attendance, but 250 people turned out for the dinner, half of them cancer survivors.

As ever, the event began with the solemn first lap by cancer survivors, including his year's honorary co-chairs Craig and Sherrie Cunningham and Dan Potokar.

"It's the inspiration for all of us are there, to see all of those survivors," Cotton said. "It was just great to see them going around the track and celebrating."

In looking back at the 2009 Relay, Cotton said that she was amazed by how many people stuck around or returned after a severe storm swept in around 3 a.m. on June 20, picking up and carrying away several tents.

"I thought we were in the middle of a tornado," Cotton recalled.

Fortunately, no one was injured, she said, and within a few hours it was difficult to tell the storm had come through as result of cleanup efforts.

"I just was really impressed by how the community and the people of Relay came back out and made Relay happen," Cotton added. "Relay, I think, brings everyone together. It brings people together who might not normally be together, but we all have that one thing in common. We do have fun, and I think that's what's hard to get across to people sometimes if they haven't been there."

All those people sticking around through the wind and rain or returning immediately after, when it would have been easier to just stay home, served as a kind of metaphor for why the event is held in the first place, in Cotton's view.

"With cancer, you can't just stop, and I think that's the way people felt with Relay," she said. "We still have to finish this event."