Published: May 10, 2008 12:53 am            

Relay for Life kicks off

One of the major themes for Relay For Life this year is fighting back.

Cancer survivor Margaret Thompson of Arkadelphia, who enjoyed her second year at Cullman’s Relay For Life on Friday night, has done just that.

A former Cold Springs teacher, Thompson was diagnosed with stage three ovarian cancer in 1992, but miraculously she made it through.

“My students inspired me and I got over the death sentence,” she said. “I just lived through it.”

Thompson, along with hundreds of fellow cancer survivors, gathered at Heritage Park for the event to both celebrate their lives, and remember the lives of those who were not so fortunate.

Fellow survivor Angela Morgan has been a Relay For Life stalwart for going on ten years, ever since she went into remission from cancer.

“I’ve been a survivor for ten years and I’ve been here ever since,” she said.

Opening ceremonies began at 7 p.m. and were hosted by Cullman County Relay For Life Chairman Blake West.

“This is the best I’ve ever seen,” West said of this year’s event. “The tents that people put together this year has just amazed me.”

Eighty-five teams signed up to raise money for this year’s Relay For Life. Some teams, such as the Cullman County Revenue Commissioners Office team, took the theme quite seriously.

“We did the Wizard of Oz this year, obviously,” Nancy Harrison, who was dressed as the Tin Man, said. “It takes a lot of guts to dress up like this, but we like to be very involved.”

Chris Chambers, whose parents have both battled cancer, said Relay For Life really means a lot to her.

“It’s such a special day for me and my family,” she said.

Cullman County Development Coordinator Gidgett Overton said things went very smoothly with this year’s Relay event.

“Everything is just going great and I think this is the first year we have been so close to our goal already,” she said, referring to their $325,000 fundraising target.

Overton said you could almost feel the energy in the air Friday night.

“You can just feel the anticipation,” she said. “All you have to do is look around.”

Relay For Life is the main fundraiser for the American Cancer Society (ACS). Local teams held fundraisers in the weeks leading up to and at the event to support the ACS.

        

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