Each year, the mission remains the same for the Relay For Life of Carter County.
The emphasis of 2017 is to engage the community to help raise awareness for cancer and the organization has come together to host a benefit concert on Saturday, Feb. 25, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Southside Christian Church in Elizabethton.
Event organizer Christy Dills added the events have been successful in the past and excitement is brewing for the weekend.
“The whole reason behind this concert is to get the community a little more involved on a personal level,” Dills said. “(Relay For Life) always has the big event in June but I thought it would be nice to pick out a couple of people in particular and put them as guests of honor. I’m just trying to rally as many people as I can to raise funds to help the Relay For Life and help the local community.”
Mary Lou and Eugene Laws will be the honorary “in memory of” individuals to be recognized during the evening. David Vanover and Gideon Purchase will also be on hand for the event as the special “in honor of” guests for the concert.
Gideon, a toddler from Carter County, has had his journey documented on the “Praying for Gideon” Facebook page. The account recently showcased a video where the youngster was diagnosed being cancer free. Vanover has put on the gloves and battled with liver cancer.
“When you go to these type of events, it makes the public more aware of the individuals that have had cancer,” Dillis said. “When they don’t even realize it. This makes it more personal and there are a lot of people that maybe haven’t done anything with Relay For Life but they’re involved with their church.”
Monetary donations will be taken up during the event with all funds going toward the county’s Relay For Life. All funding raised by Relay For Life groups directly benefits the American Cancer Society’s goal of researching cures for the disease.
“There was a little boy that gave, I believe it was around 11 or 13 cents, and it was the sweetest thing ever,” Dills said with a smile recalling a previous event. “He talked about how it was ‘miracle money.’ It’s like the Bible says, you give from your heart. It doesn’t matter if it’s a penny or a million dollars.
“This is the third one I’ve done,” she continued. “Each year, it’s grown but this is the first year I’ve done this event in this community. If we made $300 I’d be thrilled, if we made $3000 I’d be thrilled. We’re just asking people to help where they can.”
The concert will feature a bevy of performers including Jeffery Dills, Scott Reynolds, No Name But His, Scott Reynolds, The Richenberg Family, Joel Crisp, Anna Hurley, Greg Odom and the Southside Christian Church Worship Team.
“Throughout the program, there will be different things that will happen,” she said. “Certain people will come and perform because they have a personal relationship with somebody that has cancer or they just want to help. A lot of people that are getting involved are with churches. Our church community has a ton of people that have been affected by cancer.”
Dills also encouraged individuals that haven’t helped with Relay For Life to get involved.
There is still time to be involved with the event’s special slideshow presentation. During the evening, there will be a slideshow that will highlight an individual that has either passed or is going through their bout with cancer.
The public can either send “in memory of” or “in honor of” photos to Dills via email at bulldogplumbing@hotmail.com to be included. Dills added that she would like to have photos by Friday to prepare the presentation. Currently, there are 16 photos of community members to be part of the presentation.
For more information, contact Dills by calling (423) 957-0893 or (423) 957-1346.