Rallying behind the relay
The Relay for Life holds a special place in the heart of volunteer Graham Woods.
The 77-year-old, who moved to Timaru for 18 months 40 years ago and decided to stay permanently, is a long-time volunteer for the annual relay which raises money for the Cancer Society.
He said the disease has claimed several close family members.
‘‘This gives the opportunity to repay the good work that they do and I have the time to do it.
‘‘I lost my brother and my father to cancer, and I also had cousins die from it over the last 40 years.’’
Preparations begin the week before with the pitching of tents and placement of toilet blocks among others, Woods said.
‘‘Two or three days before the relay I’m involved in marking up the track, get all the sites organised for people to come in.
‘‘On the day we are there just to make sure everything is okay. And at the end of the day we take it all down.’’
Woods said Waimate hosting the 2020 South Canterbury Relay For Life at the town’s A and P Showgrounds on March 14 was great for the event as small towns had much to offer.
‘‘It’s excellent to have rural towns like Waimate involved. They’ve always helped us and this is our way of giving back to them.
‘‘They actually do most of the organising themselves. We have a very small day-to-day input when you go to the country areas because they put their own slant on it and have their own people involved.’’
Woods is also a driver for the Cancer Society and takes their clients to Christchurch or Dunedin when they need to go for specialist treatment or radiology.
For more details on the Relay for Life contact screlay@cancercwc. org.nz.