by James Hanson

A cascade of emotions and a night full of hope was shared by many Friday night at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds.

With Mother Nature expectred to bring some storms to town, Relay for Life event chair Julie Stevenson decided to move the event from downtown to the Farr Building. Dealing with foul weather, however, was not an obstacle for the hundreds of people who have waged some hard battles in their lives.

Stevenson said this year’s event was a huge success.

"Our overall fund-raising goal was $32,000," she said. "I’m thrilled to say we surpassed that goal and will be hitting $39,000."

"I would like to say thank you to all of the sponsors, team captains and members and anyone who donated prizes," she added. "Thank you also to all of those that came out and contributed to the night of Relay and to all of the volunteers for their hard work to achieve this dollar amount."

Continuing to display a never-give-up attitude, several cancer survivors, families, friends and members in the community joined together for the fight. The $39,000 raised Friday, combined with other fund-raising efforts throughout the year, will help fund research in an effort to one day find a cure for an illness that claims more than 560,000 lives in the United States each year.

The night began with a prayer from Nick Owens, followed by a victory walk featuring more than 75 survivors. Many were joined by their caregiver and proceeded through a balloon arch outdoors, where they released balloons together.

Entertainment featured several dances performed by students of the Encore School of Dance after which Miss Relay contestants Veronica, Cinderalla, Bodacious Brian, Lumcious Lynn, Jackie and Jeff were introduced.

The Aurora High School cheerleaders performed some 80s routines and Bodacious Brian was crowned as the 2009 Miss Relay, for bringing in $80. The other contestants helped raise another $170, bringing the total to $250.

A message of hope

Jodie Granfield, a survivor of breast cancer for the past 13 years, said the night was all about hope and support.

"I don’t think I would of made it without the support of my family and friends," she said. "You just have to keep fighting."

Granfield said the Relay 4 Life event was a great cause and she’s glad to see it in the community.

"It’s a good gettogether," she said. "It’s about support and remembering our loved ones that we’ve lost."

Greg Obermeier, who has fought bladder cancer for the past three years, had to fight through tough emotions and tears Friday night.

"This means everything to the families," he said. "I’m one of the lucky ones. Some of my family members didn’t make it."

"You hope that we can keep raising enough money to help find a cure," he added. "We want to create more awareness and have more early detection, as that will help greatly in fighting this illness. This event is a wonderful thing that they do across the country and it means so much to me, to us."

Debbie Janzen was diagnosed a little over a year ago with stomach cancer. She and her husband Doug said it’s been a little rough at times, but they were appreciative of the Relay 4 Life walk.

"It’s all very moving and overwhelming," she said. "There is so much community support. This is simply amazing."

"I’m so thankful I’m able to be here and be a part of it," she added. "Just to know this is very real and I’m alive and with my kids and friends. It’s great. This has been such an emotional experience for our family, but we just keep going."

"It’s very emotional," Doug said. "We hadn’t really ever been impacted by this disease until last year. Now I see how massive it is and how it affects so many people. I’ve been really impressed with everyone out here supporting this. That means a lot to so many people."

Connie Coute originally lived in California. She said it was rare to see something like the Relay 4 Life Walk out west.

"I don’t think you would find this kind of support out there," she said. "This means a whole lot to me and is a very nice program."

Coute was diagnosed with cervical and stomach cancer in 1985. She said the doctors only gave her two months to live.

"It turned out they misdiagnosed me at first," she said. "But it’s still very hard dealing with this because you never know when it will come back."

"There are so many people that give up a lot and stick by you and that support really helps," she added. "My son, Michael, prayed a lot for me when he first found out and my caregiver, Don Coute, has been tremendous. It means so much to have this kind of support in place and we all just have to keep fighting and hope that one day a cure can be found."

Coute’s sister also has cancer and she lost both of her parents to the disease.

Brian Crabtree, who participated in the event as "Bodacious Brian," said the event was significant for him. He lost his sister seven years ago to breast cancer.

"It’s very tough," he said. "My father is also a survivor of colon cancer, so I know how serious this illness can be."

"It means everything to me to be involved with this effort," he added. "It really means a lot and this is such a good cause."

Ron Consbruck’s wife, Cindy, has been fighting breast cancer for the past three years.

"That’s why I’m here," he said. "I’m here to support my wife and to support everyone else who has been impacted by cancer."

"Everyone involved does a lot of work to get this thing going," he added. "It’s been a real great event and everyone does a great job. We are just thankful to have this kind of support from the community."

A wrap-up meeting was held Tuesday at the library to discuss what did and didn’t work at this year’s event and committee members signed up for their duties in 2010.

Anyone interested in being on the 2010 Relay for Life Committee can contact Julie Stevenson at 694-5541.