Editor and Publisher
John H. Walker
TARBORO —
Edgecombe County’s Relay for Life, the observance and celebration of the fight against cancer, is little more than a day away.
Opening ceremonies will get under way at 6 p.m. Friday at the Tarboro High School football stadium. The Survivor lap will be at 6:30 p.m., followed by the Caregiver lap at 6:30. Guest speaker for the opening ceremony is Wendy Wheeler.
The highlight of the evening, the Luminary Ceremony will begin at 9 p.m. and Relay will end with a Fight Back ceremony at 8 a.m. Saturday, followed by the presentation of awards and raffle drawings.
More than 500 persons are expected to take part in one of the nation’s largest fundraisers for cancer research, Relay For Life. Last year, the local effort was ranked No. 4 in the nation in per capita funds raised, as the county effort generated $196,312.
The ACS Relay For Life is a life changing event that gives everyone in communities across the globe a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease.
At Edgecombe County Relay, teams of people come out to the football field and take turns walking around the track. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event. Because cancer never sleeps, the Relay is an overnight event.
Relay began in 1985 when Dr. Gordy Klatt, a colorectal surgeon in Tacoma, Wash., ran and walked around a track for 24 hours to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Since then, Relay has grown from a single man’s passion to fight cancer into the world’s largest movement to end the disease.
If you want to be part of Relay, but are unable to attend, you may make a donation at www.relayforlife/edgecombenc.
