Welcome to the Relay For Life of Merced. We are all here for the same reason; to CELEBRATE those who have fought or are fighting; to REMEMBER our loved ones who we have lost; and to FIGHT BACK against this terrible disease. Let us come together both online and off to better our Relay and our community.
Okay, so I took the National Team Partners Quiz posted by Nancy Cook. I answered 4 our of the 8 questions correctly. You could say I failed this quiz. Looks like I need to brush up on my knowledge of the National Team Partners program.
This past week I renewed my membership with ACS CAN and e-mailed letters to my congressmen asking them to pass the FDA Regulation of Tobacco Products legislation.
Wow! What an amazing weekend. I spent it with approximately 800 or so individuals whose energy was simply off the charts! I attended the 2008 Relay For Life® Summit in Los Angeles, California. I was a bit star struck when I ran into Jeff and Darci from the Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back. video. Pat Flynn, "Mother" of Relay For Life®, was also in attendance. Staff and volunteers from throughout California were there sharing ideas. Both Relays I am involved in, Atwater and Merced, received Pacesetter Awards. I was honored to accept the Top Excellence in Mission: Promotion award for the Atwater Relay For Life®. We met California's Heroes of Hope, including Atwater's Maria Williams. What an AMAZING WEEKEND!
The 6th Annual Relay For Life® of Atwater was held on September 27, 2008. Due to a new artificial field being installed at our usual site, the committee decided to move the location to a local school, Shaffer Elementary School. Everything with the move turned out great! The event went on without a hitch and was a great success.
This past weekend I attended the Relay University in Fresno, CA. I was asked to facilitate two workshops, the Mission D and Fight Back workshops. I want to thank my wonderful co-facilitators, Jennifer Giese and Maria Williams. They were awesome and we had a lot of fun.
I have been burning the candle at both ends for the past 8 months or so. I have been working two jobs, volunteering my time with the American Cancer Society and trying to keep some sort of life. As you can imagine, this lifestyle could only last so long. The burnout would be felt across the board with everything I was involved with.
Burnout no more! I no longer work two jobs and have much more free time. I am looking forward to the Atwater Relay For Life® only 3 months away. I have finally pulled my Relay stuff out of the garage to sift through. My excitement grows and grows.
The 10th Annual Merced Relay For Life® raised $193,300 and is expected to exceed $200,000 by the end of April. Go to http://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/story/242029.html to read the article featured in the Merced Sun Star.
Only days before the 10th Annual Relay For Life of Merced a letter was written to the editor of the Merced Sun-Star, our local newspaper. In it the author blasts Cynthia Nixon, the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and the American Cancer Society Relay For Life®. Go to http://www.mercedsunstar.com/180/story/235525.html to read this letter online.
The American Cancer Society Lead Volunteer for the Great Valley South Region, Kathy Flaherty, was quick to get a response to the editor. In it she defends the reseach supported by ACS. Go to http://www.mercedsunstar.com/177/story/240007.html to read Flaherty's letter.
The Merced Relay For Life® is this Saturday! Although I know it not to be true, I feel completely unprepared. I have teams signed up to facilitate various activites throughout the day. I am getting help with the Fight Back & Mission Delivery campsites. I pretty much have the Closing & Fight Back ceremonies ready to go. I still feel unorganized. I feel like I am missing something. I know it will all come together. It always does.
I need help! I am planning and organizing the Fight Back/Closing Ceremony for our event. Yes, the Fight Back & Closing Ceremonies are one and the same for our event. The event is 24 hours and the ceremony will begin during the last hour, 8:00 am, of the relay.
Before the Fight Back Ceremony will begin, we will be presenting all the awards for the event. Once this is completed, we will transition into the Fight Back Ceremony.
We plan on creating a lot of hype about the Fight Back Ceremony through word of mouth and in the press. The goal is to get as many people as possible to attend. I have a basic idea about what I want to do, but that's about it. Here's what I have:
The Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back. flags enter with music playing. Not sure what song should be playing, but strongly considering Right Now by Van Halen. Once the flags reach their position, the music is lowered, but still playing. The speaker, probably myself, then begins to speak. I do not know the content yet and I am still reviewing the script. The speech will end asking people to come forward and take their pledge to Fight Back. If they wish, they can speak into a microphone and share their pledge. They will remove a flag from the ground and sign the Fight Back banner. The whole time, music will be playing. Again, not sure of what songs or in what order. As the final people take their pledges, the flags will begin moving to the track. The crowd will be asked to meet behind the flags in preparation of the final lap. When the crowd is gathered, We Are The World by U.S.A for Africa (written by Michael Jackson) will begin along with the final lap. Upbeat music will continue to play until the last person completes their lap. Songs will include, but not limited to Dancing in the Street by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Walking on Sunshine by Katrina & the Waves, Power of Love by Huey Lewis & the News, etc.
I wanted to share with everyone an article written by the Merced Sun-Star on September 17, 2007 about a man, Jeff Stopper, who attempted to run 100 miles during the Relay For Life of Atwater. Although he did not make the 100 mile mark due to a knee injury he made a valiant effort. I do not remember how many miles he did run, but I believe it was over 80 miles. He is a true inspiration and the essence of Fight Back! Here is the article:
What is the Spirit Award?The Spirit Award is a perpetual plaque presented to the team earning the most Spirit Points during the Relay for Life event.The team name and year will be engraved on the plaque for all to see.
Purpose:The purpose of the Spirit Award is to promote team and participant involvement during the Relay for Life event by creating a fun and friendly competition amongst teams.
This group has been created for anyone involved with the Relay for Life of Merced to share stories and discuss ideas. The goal of this group is to improve our Relay through open discussion where everyone has a voice. Please respect the thoughts and ideas of others, even if you do not agree with them. All ideas are welcome.
Attacking others with obscene language will not be tolerated and you will be removed from this group. Offensive material, profanity, and obscenities will be removed immediately.
FORUMS:
Use the forums to open discussion. If you have an idea or question create a new forum post. Forums can also be used to pass along information about upcoming events, relay happenings, or even something personal you may wish to share with the group.
BLOGS:
Blogs are like diary or journal entries. If you are keeping a blog on the Relay for Life website you may wish to share it with the group. You can do so by clicking the box next to the group name, Relay for Life of Merced, at the bottom of your blog entry.
The American Cancer Society has teamed up with the Fresno Falcons to present the 2nd Annual Relay at the Rink event on December 29th, 2007 at 7:30 pm. The first 2,000 fans to arrive will receive a purple Falcons beanie hat. For every ticket sold $5 will be donated to the Relay for Life. There will be a post game live jersey aucion benefiting the Relay for Life. A $40,000 goal has been set for the event.
The Fresno Falcons are a minor league hockey team in Fresno, California. In 2006 and 2007 the Fresno Falcons raised more than:
After reading the blog Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back guidebook by Bobby Cherry I downloaded, printed, and read the guidebook. If you have not read it yet, go do it. The guidebook is a great source of information and has me excited about the year to come.
I was searching for a file on my computer when I came across a video featured on the Merced Sun-Star's website about the Relay for Life of Merced. The Merced Relay was April 28th, 2007 and raised about $185,000 for the American Cancer Society. It was my team's first relay. In the video you can see my parents walking around the track.
Everyone who participates in the Relay for Life does so for their own personal reasons. For most they have a family member or friend who has survived cancer, is fighting cancer, or lost the battle to cancer. Some have had cancer and beat it. Participants' reasons are very personal. The question is "why do I relay?"
I remember reading somewhere 2 out of every 3 people will have their lives touched at some point by cancer. I have known many people who have fought the battle against cancer. Part of me relayed for them.
The true driving force behind why I relay is simple. I find peace and happiness in helping others. It's the feeling I get when helping people in need. Like love, the feeling is too hard to describe. Donating to charities simply does not do it for me. Donating is not much different than paying to have my car washed. There are no warm and fuzzy feeling. Jumping into the trenches and getting dirty is where the euphoria comes from. Knowing the hours put in before and during the relay will benefit countless people. That is why I relay!
When I found out the date of the Merced Relay for Life it was a short 5 weeks away. I immediately began making phone calls and giving what probably sounded like a sales pitch to my family and friends. I wanted to make sure I would be able to convince enough people to join my team before paying the registration fee and committing to the event.
When I called one friend I felt a bit of resistance from him. He made the mistake of telling his wife and she contacted me directly a few days later. I had them both! She thought it sounded like a great idea and was enthusiastic from the beginning. My friend however was the opposite, but because I hooked her I had him. They both really enjoyed the event and will be part of my future teams.
As I was putting together my team I had no intention of asking my mother to join. I did ask her to help me fundraise. She agreed and then asked if she could participate. I told her no because I needed her to help me fundraise. The next day I realized how selfish I was being and called her to let her know she could walk and be a member of the team. Within 24 hours of her joining the team she raised over $500. She went on to raise the most money for the team and was one my greatest assets the day of the event.
For years I have wanted to get involved with the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, but usually found out about a local event only days before and never got involved. Five weeks ago this all changed when I was informed by Dorene Murphy of the American Cancer Society the date of the Merced Relay. Within days I began putting together a team.
I signed our team up online and had only a short time to decide on a name. I came up with "Friends & Family." My vision was to put together a team of friends and family making the event much like a Sunday afternoon barbarque, hence the name. I began asking people to join and quickly had a team of about 12 members. This would be the base of our team. They had friends and family come out during the day to join us, putting our team membership up to about 24.
Having never participated in a Relay for Life event before, I was unaware of how much was required of a team captain. The morning of the event seemed a bit overwhelming, but I made it through. My team really came through and I want to thank each and every member. I would also like to thank Dorene Murphy, Stephanie Struble, and Kristi Bressler all of whom helped me a great deal before and during the event.
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