The largest fund-raiser in the county begins Friday at Tiger Stadium with promises of fun and somber moments of recollection. The Texas County Relay for Life benefits the American Cancer Society.
Activities begin at 7 p.m. with recognition of cancer victims, who will walk the first lap of the event. Each participant receives a free T-shirt to wear while walking the track. Teams represent churches, organizations, businesses and families.
Among those participating will be Cindy Schuett, who in June 1986 was given a clean bill of health after successfully battling breast cancer. With cancer cells in her lymph nodes her doctor gave her a 40 percent change of surviving for five years.
“All of this was pretty scary at age 30 with two small children,” she said. “I had always known about my dad’s sister dying at a young age, but it wasn’t until I was diagnosed that I learned she had died of breast cancer. Family history is so important.”
Hundreds of survivors like Schueet also will participate in a 9 p.m. luminaria ceremony.
Bags with candles will fill the bleachers at the stadium. Individuals and companies can make contributions in memory of those who have lost their fight with cancer and honor those who have survived.
Activities – musical entertainment and games – are planned throughout the evening.
The musical roundup includes: Billie and the Rough Riders, Linda Coddington, Heather Noel, Ed Edington and Friends, Jagged Horizons and Harold Wiggs.
Activities include volleyball, a superhero contest, a scavenger hunt, hula-hoop contest and musical chairs.
A detailed schedule with times appears elsewhere in today’s Herald.