UC's Relay For Life teams have enthusiasm

During the recent Relay For Life Team Captain meeting it was quite evident that the 2007 Teams and their Captains have "enthusiasm with plenty of excitement, inspiration, motivation and a pinch of creativity" in the fight against cancer, noted 2007 Union County Cancer Survivors Activity Chair Stacy Head. Mrs. Head was in attendance to thank the team captains for their help in recruiting cancer survivors from our area to the Celebration Dinner held back in April at North Georgia Technical College. She also wanted to be sure that the teams continue contacting survivors and inviting them to the Opening Ceremony and Survivors Lap on Friday, June 22nd at 7 p.m. If teams or survivors need more information they can contact her at 706-745-1045 or online at stacyhead@alltel.net.

Janet Hartman , 2007 Team Recruitment Co-Chair, introduced the guest speaker for the meeting, Mrs. Cheryl Damon of Blairsville. Mrs. Damon spoke to the group about her cancer journey . Her daughter, Alison Gould, was also in attendance. "Her talk and her daughter's presence touched us all, as we each have our own personal experiences and our own teams of caregivers and supporters to help us in this battle," stated Mrs. Hartman. "It is because of these survivors that we continue to fight and this community is right in there with us, " she added. "We look forward to walking the survivors lap and the caregivers lap with Cheryl and her family on June 22nd."

Betty Moshier, 2007 Sponsorship Chair, presented a listing of the sponsors that have joined the fight for this year. The group was reminded of the deadlines for getting sponsor names turned in so that the backs of the team t-shirts can be designed correctly. This is the first year that the Union County Relay For Life has used the backs of the team shirts for listing of all event sponsors. There are also opportunities for sponsors to be included in the printed program that will be distributed June 22-23 during the Relay For Life event. For more information about the sponsorships please contact Mrs. Moshier at 706-781-6819 or Angela Puleo, American Cancer Society Staff member at 877-877-7479 tollfree.

Vee Laffoon and Joanne Sales gave a report about the extras that will be happening during the Relay For Life event beginning at 4 p.m. on Friday, June 22nd and ending at 8 a.m. on Saturday, June 23rd. There will be movies for all ages, food, fellowship and games. Some of the games will include Bingo, "Moonwalk", "Dunkin' Tank", and "Giant Slide". There will be children's games with prizes for all ages. In addition to the talent that will be showcased during the evening, there will be team activities such as the "Carlton Shaw Memorial Legs" contest, a scavenger hunt, and a "Crazy Hat" Parade. A complete listing of entertainment and activities will be published later.

Sue Upchurch presented the 2007 Barbecue CookOff rules and entry forms to the teams. Everyone is encouraged to recruit a team for the cookoff. For details and entry forms contact Mrs. Upchurch at 706-745-6347. This will be the tenth year for the cookoff started by Mr. & Mrs. George Upchurch as another creative way to raise funds and have fun in the fight against cancer.

The next Team Captain meeting will be Thursday, May 31 at 5:30 p.m. at the Mountain Presbyterian Church on Young Harris Highway. Following the team captain meeting everyone is invited to join the Mountain Presbyterian Church Relay For Life Team for their annual Spaghetti Supper. Of course the public is also invited to the supper as well. For more information you can contact the Mountain Presbyterian Church office.

Teams were given the opportunity to share some of their successes and their plans for upcoming events. From the information shared, it was evident that ENTHUSIASM and CREATIVITY go a long way to ensuring another successful Relay For Life in Union County. Angela Puleo shared some exciting news about our 2006 Relay For Life event, "Union County has again been named as one of the TOP TEN Relay For LIfe events in the nation for our population category !"

"The Spirit of Relay For Life in Union County has been growing and growing since the first one here in 1995," stated Mrs. Sue Upchurch, longtime American Cancer Society volunteer. "Each year our community has shown its committment and desire to join together in this fight and each year we continue to show that we are winning," she added. If you, your family, your co-workers, your church members or your schoolmates want to be a part of the 2007 Relay For Life in Union County, there are still opportunities open. Contact Janet Hartman at 706-745-8470 for more information.

Here is a listing of current 2007 teams and support teams:

All Saints Lutheran Church; Appalachian Community Bank; Antioch Baptist Church; Bank of Blairsville; Blairsville School of Dance; Cadence Bank; Coosa United Methodist Church; CVS; Blue Ridge Mountain EMC; Exit Realty; First United Methodist Church; High Mountain Health Care;Home Depot; McGraw Family; Mountain Presbyterian Church; Ray of Hope ( Ray Sales Family); St. Francis Catholic Church; ( McClure Family)Truckin' For a Cure; Union County Elementary and Primary PAWS for a Cure; Union Realty; United Community Bank; Wendy's; Corrugated Replacements; North Georgia Technical College; ReMax Enotah Realty; Union General Hospital.