4 2014 RELAY FOR LIFE MAGAZINE LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com July 28, 2014
commented remembering that
it was six years at a ‘Together
for Lincoln’ meeting that Long
had shared that he had cancer.
Guzzardo said, “The preachers
there brought him (Long) up on
stage and prayed for him. There
are miracles folks, and he is one
of them.”
After the prayer, American
Legion Post 263 of Lincoln
came forward to present the
nation’s colors while Debbie
Ross sang the “National
Anthem.”
Next up were this year’s Relay
for Life Co-chairs, Trenton
Crawford and Kathleen
Brumbaugh. Crawford
began with a few welcoming
statements. Then Brumbaugh
added her statements as well,
saying, “While each of us
has a unique reason for being
here, we all have something in
common. We want to make a
difference in the fight against
cancer.”
Crawford also commented on
his own commitment to the
Relay for Life and the team of
high school students he had
brought to the Relay. “For me
bringing them together to do
something that is bigger than
themselves, and to fight for
something that means so much
to me and them as well really
means a lot to us. As kids, we
have grandparents, relatives,
aunts, uncles, parents, brothers
and sisters that are all somehow
affected by this, and we want to
make a difference too.”
When Guzzardo returned to
the microphone he introduced
the honorary co-chairs for this
year; Nancy Reese and Nicole
Bottrell.
Reese stood and told the group
that when she had her operation
for cancer, she was 38 years
old, and this year she is a 38-
year survivor.
Guzzardo read biographies from
each of the honorary chairs. He
read Reese’s document, saying
her breast cancer diagnosis
came in 1976, when she had
two surgeries, and several
months of chemotherapy. At
the time, she had children in a
wide range of ages that needed
her. She and her husband
spent Independence Day that
year in the hospital, watching
fireworks out the window of
her room. Her mother took
early retirement from her job
and dedicated herself to helping
see the family through this
trying time. Reese said in her
biography she was thankful to
be with the Relay for Life on
this night, and thankful she was
able to celebrate 38 years of
being a survivor.
Nicole Bottrell’s biography
came next. As Guzzardo read
it, the group heard that Bottrell
has an incurable cancer and
will take chemotherapy the rest
of her life just to keep it under
control.
Bottrell said in her bio that both
her grandmother and mother
had breast cancer, and she knew
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