Relay For Life
CORBIN/TRI-COUNTY RELAY FOR LIFE TO MARK 20TH YEAR
AT CORBIN SPEEDWAY THIS WEEKEND
CORBIN,
Ky. - The Corbin/Tri-County Relay For Life will be conducted this coming Friday
evening and early Saturday morning at Corbin Speedway, marking 20 years of the
benefit event for the American Cancer Society.
"We'll have booths, games and inflatables for the kids, including an
obstacle course, and all kinds of activity in addition to the walk,"
commented Mrs. Lynda Meadows, a spokeswoman for the event.
Booths manned by representatives of local merchants and organizations
will offer food and other items, she noted, and raffles will also be conducted.
The Christmobile, a Chevrolet Monte Carlo which will compete in the Late
Model Division during Saturday night's regular race program at the local track,
will be on display, and several souvenir Christmobile items will be included as
raffle prizes. The car and prizes
are being made available by Gary Sturdivant, president of the JC Racing Team of
Cincinnati. David Fields of
Richmond, Ky. is the team's driver for 2005.
One of the more popular attractions for racing fans will be a dunking
booth, with Corbin Speedway race drivers to be in the "hot" seat.
"This is an event for everyone who wants to help in the fight
against Cancer," remarked John E. Davis, owner and General Manager of
Corbin Speedway, "but we expect this particular item to be very attractive
to many of our race fans. They'll
be getting the chance to dunk their favorite driver, or maybe his rivals. It should be fun. We
have made the track available for this event because we're part of this
community, and every one of us has been touched in some way by Cancer.
Our participants live with risk every time they take their cars onto the
track, but everyone runs the risk of someday having to fight back against
Cancer."
Activities will get underway with the Survivors' Celebration, honoring
area survivors of Cancer. One of
those will be Mrs. Meadow herself, who was diagnosed with Cancer for the first
time in 1987 and again in 2001.
"By the grace of God and supporting family and friends, along with
research made possible from events like the Relay For Life, I'm here today to
ask everyone to join me on Friday, May 20 at Corbin Speedway for our annual
Relay for Life event.
The relay itself will begin at 7:00 p.m., with survivors walking the
first lap. Teams will then begin
walking around the quarter-mile paved oval and continue until 7:00 a.m. on
Saturday morning. A total of 21
teams had signed up at this article's press time.
"It has to be an all-night event," Mrs. Meadows explained,
"because Cancer never sleeps. There's
no finish line until a cure is found."
A highlight of the event will be the luminaria ceremony scheduled for
10:00 p.m.
Anyone may purchase a luminaria (a lighted candle inside a paper bag) for
a suggested minimum donation of $5.00, and have it marked as a memorial to a
family member or friend lost to Cancer. The
luminarias will line the inside of the track from 10:00 p.m. on.
"This is a fun-filled overnight activity that celebrates survival of
Cancer and memorializes those who lost their lives to Cancer, and in turn raise
funds for the fight against this dreaded disease," Mrs. Meadows said.
"Everyone is invited to attend and take part in this event to
support the fight against Cancer."
The Relay For Life is an American Cancer Society signature activity.
Teams are welcome to bring grills, it was added.
Pets may accompany walkers and spectators, but must be kept on a leash.
No skateboards or rollerblades will be allowed.
Information from the American Cancer Society noted that the Relay For
Life beginning as the sun is setting symbolizes the time when a patient is
diagnosed with Cancer. The day is
getting darker and this represents the patients' state of mind.
As the evening gets colder and darker, so do the emotions of the Cancer
patients. The period from around
1:00 a.m. until 2:00 a.m. represents the time when the Cancer patients begin
treatment. They become exhausted,
some not wanting to go on, possibly wanting to give up. Participants have been walking and feel much the same way.
They are tired, want to sleep, maybe even want to go home, but they
cannot stop or give up.
From around 4:00 a.m. until 5:00 a.m. symbolizes the coming of the end of
treatment for the Cancer patients. Once
again they are tired, but they know they will make it. The sun rising represents the end of treatment.
Patients see the light at the end of the tunnel and know that life will
go on. The morning light brings on
a new day full of life and excitement, new beginnings.
Additional information may be obtained by contacting Mrs. Meadows at
(606) 528-6390, (606) 524-3406, (606) 528-8306, or by e-mail at mcmead@msn.com.
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