Garland County ‘ Relays’ hope
Dear editor:
On behalf of Your American Cancer Society, I want to thank Garland County for its outpouring of love, energy, physical and financial support at the 2012 Relay For Life. Who could have imagined that we would spend the night cold and wet when we braved the 100- plus degree temperatures last year? We braved the elements and had a wonderful Relay For Life!
A huge “Thank you” goes out to our committee: Lisa Austin, Beth Adcock, Valerie Ross, Becky Roddenberry, Jennifer Darnell, Lisa Gloria, Deb Jones Bailey, David Barentine, Dick Antoine, Bill Sexton, Brad Sexton, Dan Smith, Joseph Hunter, Heather Busch, Vicki Rima, Susan Rima, Tammie Barmore, Sharon Parrett, Kathy Watson, Jill Sullivan, Helen Ball, Terry Wallace, Lori Lemm, Cindy Reed, Charlotte Davis, Roseanne Mickens and Joanne Blos. What an amazing group of dedicated and hard- working people! This event would never happen without each of you.
We also couldn’t have achieved these results without our sponsors: National Park Medical Center, Hospice Home Care, US Stations, The Sentinel- Record, Weyerhaeuser, Regions Bank, Xerox, Coco Beverage, Simmons First, Oaklawn Racing and Gaming, SeaPort Airlines, Genesis Cancer Center, Fraternal Order of Eagles, Arkansas Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons, LifeNet, Turf Catering, Three Lakes Distributing, Heritage of Hot Springs, Canyon Springs, Hot Springs Bank & Trust, Drs. Van Bebber and Fleischner, South Central GI and Endoscopy, Trader Bill’s, Joplin Fire Department, Warehouse Paint, Diamondhead Golf, Dermatology Clinic, Arkansas Prostate Cancer Foundation, Legacy Printers, Hay’s Rental, RSC Equipment Rental, Jan Warren ( certified balloon artist), Greeson’s.
A special “Thank you” to Balloons and More for jumping in at the last minute to find us over 2,000 Glo- Sticks! For the first year ever, we were unable to light our luminarias due to the burn ban. So without Terri at Balloons and More, we wouldn’t have even had a luminaria glow! Also, thanks to Oaklawn for letting us use your wonderful facility and to your helpful and hard- working staff! To our entire area: Your generosity is overwhelming and we appreciate you so much.
To all the team captains who worked so hard throughout the year motivating and organizing your team fundraisers. We cannot thank you enough! Your hard work paid off in such a huge way! We have raised over $ 175,000 right now with more money coming in toward our goal of $ 225,000. Garland County has been the No. 1 Relay in the state of Arkansas for 12 of the 13 years we have hosted a Relay. And we aren’t going to let No. 1 slip out of our hands ever again, thanks to the selfless and passionate volunteers of Garland County!
You have all made a difference in people’s lives. Your generous donations go toward programs that help cancer patients get to their treatments, via our free “Road to Recovery” program. They help women learn to take care of their skin during harsh chemo treatments, via our free “Look Good, Feel Better” program. They help provide free wigs for women who have lost their hair due to these treatments and many other programs that are available free to cancer patients! It also provides 24/ 7/ 365 access to help for cancer patients and their families via our toll free number: 800- 227- 2345, which is answered by a very helpful real human being! And of course, most of these dollars go toward funding the research that is helping us gain strength toward the ultimate goal: finding a cure for all types of cancer. So much headway has been made through our research. Chances are, if you are going through cancer treatment, the medications and treatments that you have available are due to the research funded by ACS. The dollars raised today will help ensure that our children and their children will not have to worry about getting the news that they have cancer. That is our goal and we won’t stop fighting until cancer is eradicated! Together, we will achieve this goal. From the bottom of my heart: Thank you, Garland County! I’m so proud to be a part of this special place filled with special people.
Relay 2013 of Garland County will be held on May 31- June 1, again at Oaklawn Park. Please mark your calendars and start planning for next year! If you would like to help with our planning committee, please contact me at donna. smith@ cancer. org. We have all the confidence in the world that the Garland County event will continue to be the top Relay in the state of Arkansas this year, next year and will continue until we no longer need to have Relays because we have found the cures. For those cures, Donna K. Smith American Cancer Society Staff partner for Faulkner, Garland
and Saline counties P o l i c i e s