Finish the Fight
One word brought a community together on Saturday: Hope.
Montgomery County Relay for Life held its annual event on Saturday to raise money to help cancer patients and fund research.
Committee member Ann Jones said the event raised around $33,500, which is less than the previous year. The committee’s goal was to raise $50,000, but they will continue to fund-raise through Aug. 31.
The 10-hour event, held at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds, hosted music, games, entertainers, classes, speakers and more.
Amy Tibben, the chair of the event, opened the day with an inspirational speech before survivors of cancer took a lap around the track. Tibben, whose son is a survivor, told the audience that it is possible to overcome cancer.
The survivors, with balloons and smiles, took the honorary first lap of the event to celebrate. Soon after, caregivers, teams and sponsors joined in for the first few laps.
As the event picked up, Rev. David MacDonald of Faith Community Church in Red Oak, was asked to give an inspirational speech.
“I was asked to be the inspirational speaker, which is kind of a joke,” said MacDonald. “You guys are the inspiration.”
MacDonald shared a story and said his speech was aimed at inspiring laughter and humor.
“The reason I told that story is to show the power of laughter and humor,” MacDonald said. “If you want to stay inspired, keep a sense of humor.”
He added, “an attitude is everything.”
The reverend said the easiest way to keep humor alive is to laugh at yourself. He said if people laugh at themselves, others tend to relax around them. He wanted the audience to take away one thing: good attitude is everything.
“Keep a good attitude, learn to laugh and, for God’s sake, laugh at yourself,” said MacDonald.
The afternoon was full of activities for kids including a small Ferris wheel, provided by the Villisca Lions Club, and face-painting.
Inside the fair building, dancers from Cindy’s Dance Unlimited studio of Villisca entertained the crowd with several types of dances.
There were two painting classes, hosted by Too Hot Tomatoes of Sidney, where students paid a small fee and painted cancer ribbons.
Performer Jenny Burkhiser put on a musical and informational show about Laura Ingalls Wilder in the afternoon, and comedian Roger McQueen entertained the crowd in the early evening hours.
David Abercrombie, chief executive officer of Montgomery County Memorial Hospital, gave another inspirational speech. He spoke about being a part of a smaller hospital with access to treatment for cancer patients. “I work for Montgomery County Memorial Hospital and I’m proud of what we have,” Abercrombie said, “One of the reasons I’m proud is we have a chemotherapy [and] oncology unit.”
The CEO spoke about how he hopes the hospital can tap more into resources for holistic care for patients and concentrate on more than just the biological affects of the disease.
Just before sunset, Laci Schafer of Villisca and Liz Timmerman of Corning held an Insanity workout session by the track.
Throughout the day, Hy-Vee and Pizza Hut provided food for participants. Birthday cake was served in the evening to celebrate Relay for Life’s 30th birthday.
At the end of the night, Tibben hosted the annual luminaria ceremony. Paper bags, decorated with names of victims and survivors and with a lit candle inside ethem, lined the track to remember those who have been affected by cancer.
A silent lap was taken to remember the loved ones after a list of their names were read.
The event ended with a sense of hope and accomplishment lingering in the air.