Page 4 - RELAY FOR LIFE 2013 -- An LDN Publication

2013 RELAY FOR LIFE. LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com jUNE 17, 2013
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Relay For Life honors Logan County heroes
American Cancer Society celebrates 100 years
The theme for this year’s Logan County
Relay For Life was “Logan County
Heroes: Past, Present and Future.”
The primary goal of the annual event is to raise
funds for the American Cancer Society. This
year’s event was in the parking lot of Lincoln
College’s Lincoln Center and offered an evening
of activities beginning Friday and ending
Saturday morning.
The Relay also provides time for folks to reunite
over a common cause, remember those who are
gone, uphold those who are fighting now and
thank those who support them.
This year’s master of ceremonies was Steve
Sauer. He opened the evening by welcoming
everyone in attendance and sharing some of the
history of the American Cancer Society and the
Relay For Life.
The American Cancer Society is celebrating
100 years this year. When it was formed in 1913,
the word cancer was rarely spoken aloud. It was
a disease that few understood, and even fewer
survived.
One hundred years later, it is still a devastating
disease. It fills the mind with horror and the heart
with fear when the words are spoken aloud in a
diagnosis. But, in those 100 years, progress has
been made to stop the devastation. A disease
once called incurable is now being survived by
many. Today 2 out of 3 people who are diagnosed
become survivor statistics.
The American Cancer Society is contributing
daily to the search for a real cure, but the work
goes beyond that. The organization is actively
involved in promoting prevention and also offers
support to those who are battling to win the fight
of their life.
In 1985, a doctor in Tacoma, Wash., decided
to raise awareness and money for the American
Cancer Society by walking nonstop for 24 hours.
He raised the funds by collecting pledges from
friends and family who would honor the pledges
if he completed his task.
Dr. Gordy Klatt took to the track at Baker
Stadium at the University of Puget Sound and in
24 hours reached his goal: walking and running
a total of 83 miles. As he completed his mission,
he thought of what would happen if many, many
people were to do the same thing. They could
form teams and take turns walking, all in the
hopes of raising awareness and money for the
American Cancer Society.
One year later, the first Relay For Life walk
took place with 19 teams raising money for the
American Cancer Society.
In the past 28 years, over 5,200 relay events
have taken place, raising more than $4.5 billion
for cancer research and support.
The Logan County Relay is 16 years young. It
was formed in 1998, and many of the people who
were there for the first event were still there for
the one Friday night and Saturday morning.
After Sauer delivered some history, the opening
prayer was delivered by Pastor Robert Long, who
is also a cancer survivor.
TheAmerican Legion Post 263 color guard was
on hand to do the presentation of colors while
Lincoln native Debbie Ross sang the national
anthem.