The sun shone bright Saturday afternoon while the community gathered on Loudon High School’s baseball field to celebrate, honor and participate in the American Cancer Society of Loudon County’s Relay for Life.
About 400 residents visited the event throughout the day to lend their support. Guests were treated to an assortment of entertainment during the 12 hours the relay lasted, and the event included a live band performance, an appearance by American Idol contestant Laurel Wright and a performance by the Loudon High School choir.
“... It seems to be going pretty well for the change of location and everything we had to overcome this year of moving at (the) last minute,” Tracy Isenberg, Relay for Life co-chairwoman, said. “It wasn’t a thing we had planned on, so we didn’t find out until Thursday, ‘Oh yeah, by the way, the soccer game got canceled. It’s been rescheduled for Saturday night.’ ‘Oh yay.’ But I think it’s all gone pretty well. The activities seem well participated in and everybody seems to be having fun.”
Event Chairwoman for the Relay for Life Committee Kim Ebeling said the event listed 83 cancer survivors to honor, which surpassed the committee’s original goal of 70 for the year.
Seventeen fundraising teams were also in attendance to help Relay get closer to its $52,000 goal for the year.
“Not only does it create better awareness in the community, but this — a lot of the money that we raise stays in the community with our cancer research at UT and different locations,” Isenberg said.
Before the event, $18,000 had been raised, Mike Kittl, Relay committee member, said. Kittl is also a cancer survivor. He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in October 2000.
“We’re just trying to get the message (out) and help with the financial part for people that need help,” Kittl said. “... All of these other people are in the same boat, and we want to make sure that the money’s there for them.”
The cancer survivors who made an appearance Saturday evening were honored with a medallion necklace before doing a ceremonial lap around the field, celebrating their fight against cancer.
City of Loudon resident Susan Howell was one of the cancer survivors who walked the lap. Howell was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1994. May marks the 20th year she has been in remission, she said.
“I think it’s great for the awareness and for the support just, you know, so somebody doesn’t have to go through it alone,” Howell said. “They can see there are a lot of us of all sorts of cancer survivors, so ... we’re all here.”
Relay teams offered items like pizza, hamburgers, hotdogs and shirts. Kim Johnson and Alison Grissom of Fort Loudoun Medical Center had shirts and pens to sell, with all of the proceeds going toward research.
“I mean cancer is something that research is going to be ongoing for years and years and it’s, you know, you would hope at some point we’re going to find a cure for the different things,” Johnson said. “I know we’ve made a lot of progress, but it’d be nice when it’s completely wiped away. I think a lot of people here either are survivors or have lost someone to cancer, and I have lost loved ones to cancer, and I’ve actually got a mother that’s a cancer survivor, so it’s a great cause.”
