Relay for life
Events in Washington, Wood counties wrap Saturday
PARKERSBURG — Another Relay for Life is in the books for Wood County.
Although a number of participants went home well before the closing ceremony on Saturday morning, a small group stayed to the end of the event which began Friday night at City Park in Parkersburg.
Lori Ullman-Wright, co-chair of the Relay, said the ups and downs of the weather this year were much like the life of someone after they have been given a diagnosis of cancer.
“It’s not dark just for the cancer survivor but it’s dark for the caregiver,” she said. “How do we know what to do and how do we know how to support you?
“Suddenly you are enveloped in this dark, dark tunnel and you see flickers of light here and you begin to see flickers of light there and then suddenly there is a little light. It might go out for a minute and then another little light.”
Ullman-Wright said getting through it all is like coming into the dawn of a new day.
“That is the importance of what we do; for those of us who have not experienced it on one end and only on the other end it is a true learning experience and something that is important for some many different things to know how that works,” she said.
“In the place where we come together once a year, to understand as much as we can in that feeling we have opportunity, we have fellowship, we have support, we have celebration, we have remembrance, we get stronger because we are stronger together.
“That strength comes from what we do here that provides that sense of hope that the light will be at the end of the tunnel,” she said.
Ullman-Wright said Relay organizers and participants look forward to the time when cancer will be added to the list of diseases that have been eradicated or are rare.
Carmen Hathaway, community manager for Wood County Relay for Life, said the preliminary estimate of what was raised was $107,137.35. She said the goal was $145,000, leaving $37,800 to be raised by the end of the event season on Aug. 31.
“If you have money, please keep turning it in,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to continue to ask. Please remember why you do this; share that story every day and please share the story of the American Cancer Society, we’re working hard to save lives from this disease.”
Earlier in the Relay, Anne Anderson, of the Peoples Church of Boaz, a 30-year survivor of cancer, said their group has been a part of the Relay for a while.
“We have a small group of eight members,” she said. “We have had many members of our church who have beat cancer and some who have died. We are here to remember those who died and to honor those who survived.”
Anderson said earlier in the Relay she thought part of the relay was to be in super hero costumes. So in keeping with the theme, she was dressed somewhat like Super Woman, but she realized she was one of a few who dressed up for the event.
At the same time hundreds of people were walking at City Park, more hundreds across the Ohio River were walking through the night at Civitan Park in Belpre for the 2017 Washington County Relay for Life.
Chad Gardner, community manager for Washington County Relay for Life, said the event in Belpre raised $110,000 with another $10,000 coming post-event from teams and sponsors.
“The event itself went very well, and the weather cooperated for us when it seemed like it was storming everywhere around us. We do feel though that attendance was hurt by the fear of storms,” Gardner said. “We will continue to fundraise through the end of August to get closer to our fundraising goal! Donations can be sent in online at www.RelayForLife.org/WashingtonCounty and offline by contacting myself.”