Lace up your athletic shoes and head out to the Grundy County Relay for Life activities this Saturday at Trenton High School. The relay is the signature fundraising event for the American Cancer Society.
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Money raised at the Grundy County Relay for Life will be spent on cancer research; support services to cancer patients and to their caregivers and families; and on education and advocacy programs geared to the prevention and early detection of cancer.
The relay will begin at noon and end at midnight after a “fight back” ceremony. Relay teams will start arriving in mid-morning and set up camps and booths on the school grounds.
Come at noon for lunch and stay for a free skin cancer screening provided by Cleaver Dermatology of Kirksville. A dermatologist, Dr. Cleaver will conduct skin cancer screenings from noon to 2 p.m. in the nurse’s office at Trenton Middle School. Cleaver Dermatology conducts monthly outpatient clinics at Wright Memorial Hospital in Trenton.
“We are so pleased to partner with Cleaver Dermatology to offer this free service to people attending Grundy County Relay for Life,” said Sarah Maloney, relay co-chairman. “If you have a concern or just questions about skin cancer, come on out and take advantage of this free offer. The doctor is in.”
Following a brief opening ceremony at noon, team members will start walking laps around the circle drive in front of Trenton High and Middle schools. Various community organizations unable to have teams in the relay have also been invited to walk laps. They include the Red Hatters, 4-H’ers, Boy Scouts and first responders, including the Trenton police and fire departments and the Grundy County Sheriff’s Department. The general public is also invited to walk laps or walk about the team camps, buy some food, beverages and look at the items to be auctioned on Saturday evening.
Food items for sale will include loose meat sandwiches (named Martha-Rites in memory of Martha McRae), walking tacos, hotdogs, brats, ice cream, cookies and other baked goods.
A grand opening ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. when Aaron Busch, who is the co-captain of the Trenton Hy-Vee team, sings the National Anthem. After Aaron sings, every person who has heard the words, “You have cancer,” is invited to participate in the cancer survivors’ lap.
Each survivor will be introduced, then, as a group, they will walk one lap. The public is invited to join team members as they line the circle drive to applaud and cheer as the survivors are honored. Grundy County Relay for Life honored the survivors at a dinner last week and will provide a free, purple Relay for Life t-shirt to every cancer survivor attending the Relay.
Caregivers will join the survivors for a second lap around the circle drive. Everyone who has battled cancer will tell you of the importance of caregivers. They truly are the wind beneath the wings of cancer patients.
Next, the teams will be introduced and will announce items they are selling Saturday to raise funds for the American Cancer Society. This year, 11 teams representing businesses, churches, organizations and families with a loved one battling cancer are participating in the Grundy County Relay for Life. The teams are Alice’s Angels, ConAgra, First Christian Church, Hakuna Ma Ta-Tas, Hy-Vee, Kaleidoscope, North Central Missouri Mental Health Center, Super Stars Dance Studio, Trenton High School FFA, Wesley United Methodist Church and Wright Memorial Hospital.
Some teams have been fundraising for months while at least one team will be holding a fundraiser after the relay on Saturday. The Trenton FFA team is planning a trap shoot in memory of Larry Briegel. Proceeds will be donated to the American Cancer Society as part of Grundy County Relay for Life.
Donated items, including artwork, hand-crafted jewelry, a certificate for a live tree from Rosemary Hill Tree Farm and baskets of goodies put together by the various teams will be auctioned after the team lap at about 7 p.m.
Live entertainment is scheduled between 8 and 9 p.m. The Hakuna Ma Ta-Tas team will have a car bash fundraiser in the THS parking lot.
Lap walking, music and other activities will be suspended at about 9 p.m. for the luminaria ceremony. This will be a quiet, reflective time as those attending the relay pause to light candles as the names of family and friends who have died from cancer and the names of cancer survivors are read. Luminaria can be purchased from team members, during business hours through Friday at the Trenton Chamber of Commerce office and at the relay until about 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.
“I participated in my first relay last year and was deeply touched by the luminaria ceremony,” said Paul Fraser, co-chairman of the Grundy County Relay. “This is why I participate in relay, to honor cancer patients, past and present, and to reduce the number of future cancer patients. It is a beautiful and moving ceremony.”
Entertainment, music and games will continue after the luminaria ceremony, as team members and the public continue to walk around the circle drive.
A “fight back” ceremony will begin about 11 p.m. While the lighting of the luminaries is a solemn ceremony, the “fight back” ceremony will be loud and upbeat. Team members and the public are invited to participate by introducing themselves and telling how they will “fight back” against cancer in the coming year. Ways to fight back include wearing sunscreen; eating healthy and nutritious foods; exercising; and getting routine physical examinations.
Grundy County Relay for Life will close with a pizza party donated by the Trenton Pizza Hut.
Corporate sponsors for the Grundy County Relay for Life include ConAgra Foods and Wright Memorial Hospital, gold level; Barnes Baker Automotive, Be-Boppin’ Dave DJ Service, Farmers Bank of Northern Missouri, Grundy County Health Department, Hy-Vee, Immanuel Lutheran Church, KTTN, Medicine Creek Trucking, North Central Missouri Mental Health Center, and Trenton Republican-Times, silver level; and Andereck Evans Widger Johnson and Lewis LLC, Auto Dynamics, Barnes Greenhouse, Beckworth Publications, El Nopal, Farmers Mutual Insurance of Grundy County, Farmers State Bank, Giggles and Wiggles Childcare, Hoffman and Reed Inc., Lauhoff Jewelry and Gifts, Loud and Clear Communications, Morse and Sons Properties, PDQ Cleaning Service Inc., Save-A-Lot, Trenton Rotary Club and Wesley United Methodist Church, bronze level. The Trenton R-9 School District and Trenton Municipal Utilities have provided valuable in-kind support.