Relay for Life moves to June
Published 6:07 pm Friday, January 19, 2018
It’s going to be a star-spangled occasion at Butler County’s Relay For Life for the American Cancer Society in 2018 with its patriotic theme of “America for a Cure.”
This red letter day in the fight against cancer is also seeing a major change this year. The date of Relay is moving from the second Friday night in May to a day/night event on Saturday, June 23.
The 2018 Butler County Relay is slated to kick off at 2 p.m. and run until 10 p.m. at the Butler County Fairgrounds.
“We’ve held our county’s Relay on Mother’s Day weekend in the past, and that’s caused some issues,” says Gerri McGinnis, chairperson of the Butler County Relay For Life.
“We’ve had a lot of discussions about changing that date and also the time frame for the event, and we looked at our community calendar of events to find a better option. We believe we can better accommodate every age group and the busy community we work and live in with this change.”
The official kickoff for 2018 Relay is slated for Thursday, February 1 at 5:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church in Greenville.
Casey Rogers, Team chair for the Butler County Relay, encourages all team captains to be present or to send a representative to this event as well as to the monthly team meetings.
“I am so excited to see what this year has in store for our Relay,” Rogers says. “I look forward to working with all our team captains and seeing the changes with this year’s Relay unfold.”
Team captain meetings are scheduled as follows at 5:30 p.m. each month at Beeland Park: Feb. 22, March 22, April 26 and May 24. The final meeting on June 21 will also serve as Bank Night, with location TBA.
Rogers wants to remind all captains to “get your teams ready” as the local chapter of the ACS Relay For Life gears up to start raising funds, morale and awareness in the continued fight against cancer. Relay committee members Judy Carol Milton and Karen Newton are set to begin the fundraising and sponsorship season very soon, says McGinnis, adding, “It really does take a village to fight for a cure. Come and join us!”
