Fighting cancer

By Staff
Relay kickoff attracts record attendance
Melissa Cason
It's Relay for Life time once again as the Franklin County Relay held its annual kickoff dinner Thursday night at First Baptist Church in Russellville.
American Cancer Society Volunteer Coordinator Beth Faulkner said the RSVP for the kickoff set a record, and 56 people attended this year's event.
"The kickoff is where team captains get their packets, and ideas for fundraisers," Faulkner said.
While the event was to kick off the Relay season, awards from last year's Relay were handed out, including the Volunteer of the Year Award.
This year's award was presented to Jolene Stockton. Last year was Stockton's first year as team captain for Brookwood and Friends. Stockton and her team raised more than $5,000 for ACS.
"A lot of that money was raised by her lugging around a toilet and putting it in people's yards," Faulkner said. "She charged people money for putting it there, getting it out of their yard and insurance to make sure it didn't come back."
Faulkner said Stockton was nominated for the award by her teammates, but she was selected by a state committee.
Committee Chair Belinda Johnson talked about the importance of the Relay, especially now because of the hard times.
"There may be someone out there that had a job last year, but doesn't this year," Johnson said. "They may need a ride to treatment or someone to help with other issues. The money we raised at Relay goes to help fund different programs that are offered free of charge."
Team captain meetings were also announced and are as follows: Feb. 17, March 17, and April 14. All team captain meetings will be held at the Russellville Hospital Community Education Center on Gandy Street in Russellville. Starting time for all of the meetings is 5:30 p.m., and Bank Night is April 20.
For more information on how to get more involved with Relay or to learn about services offered by ACS, call (256) 767-0825.