Community and area directors for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life event were in town Thursday to meet with potential teams ready to move foward with the 2013 Relay event.
Chris Brown, ACS community representative, said the plans for the annual fundraising event are in the beginning stages, and organizers are seeking ideas and suggestions of past and present Relay participants is.
“We are only here to help with the Relay event,” Brown said. “We want this to be a Brewton event geared to be what the people want it to be.”
Brown said local teams will be calling the shots for the annual Relay with assistance from himself and Christy Sexton, area representative for ACS.
“We are here to offer our help and guidance, but this is a community event,” Brown said. “We want to facilitate with the event as much as we can and still allow this to be what Brewton wants and needs from a Relay event.”
Sexton said a kick-off date has been set with the Relay for Life event date set as well.
“We have planned a kick-off meeting for anyone interested in Relay,” Sexton said. “We want this to be an informational meeting to let anyone interested know what Relay is, what we do and how to be involved. This isn’t just for teams and team captains, this is for the community. We will meet at D.W. McMillan Hospital’s education center on Jan. 22 at 5:30 to hear more about what Brewton area people want in a Relay for Life event. We plan to hold Relay on April 20.”
With three teams already committed and raising funds for Relay, Sexton said any other teams are invited to attend the meeting for more details on the 2013 event.
“We do have some commitment from teams, but we are still looking for committee members to keep the plans for the event moving forward,” Sexton said. “We hope that there are people who will step forward and volunteer to be a part of the planning for the event and help make Relay fun again.”
Sexton said sponsorships — and more teams — are also needed for the upcoming Relay for Life event.
“We are happy to have the teams we already have, but we certainly want to build on that,” Sexton said. “We are also struggling with sponsorships for the event. There have been some issues in the past and we hope that we can work through those problems and see the Brewton area Relay event get back to where it once was.”
Sexton said the elements of Relay — Celebrate, Remember and Fight Back — will still be the main focus of the event.
Although no specific goal has been set for fundraising in the 2013 event, there is a dream of what is possible.
“We understand the economy and know that it has put a damper on some fundraising events and activities over the past year or two,” Sexton said. “Because of that, we are setting a goal we believe is realistic. We are hoping to have a goal of around $30,000 for this year. That is a doable goal — maybe not for this year, but it will get us back on track.”
Anyone interested in learning more about the Relay for Life event, forming a team or volunteering as a committee member is invited to attend the kickoff meeting Jan. 22, Sexton said.