Relay For Life 2011

The 2011 Daviess County RELAY FOR LIFE is coming up Friday night at Diamond Lake Campground and Resort!  It's an amazing evening of celebration and remembrance and each and everyone of you is invited to come out and join in the fun!  This is my 2nd year serving as the Chairperson of Relay in Daviess County and my committee and I have worked so hard to make this event one of the county's most spectacular.  And I promise you, Friday night is going to knock your socks off and we are going to put up one helluva fight against CANCER!  You know . . . the old saying goes . . . Cancer never sleeps and we won't either.  You are d%@$ right!

The 2011 Relay kicks off late afternoon with OMHS's Survivor Dinner.  This is the 2nd consecutive year that the hospital has joined us at Diamond Lake for their annual tribute to cancer survivors.  We are thrilled they are on board with us and their efforts to honor the folks who have battled cancer just add to Relay experience overall!  There's something THRILLING about driving into Diamond Lake and seeing that huge tent full of people that we are all rallying for! 

At 5pm, the Western Kentucky Regional Blood Center will open the doors to its Bloodmobile.  For the first time ever, WKRBC will be drawing blood at Relay.  We ecnourage you, if you can donate, to please make plans to visit the Bloodmobile.  WKRBC is donating $5 per donor to the American Cancer Society and Relay For Life.  The donor guidelines are quite simple.  All donors must be at least 16-years-old and weigh at least 110 pounds.  Donors must check all medications with WKRBC staff.  Donors should make sure they have eaten before donating!  (And, don't worry!  We'll have plenty of chow at Relay!) .  And donors must allow 56 days between donations!  We invite everyone to stop by the Bloodmobile between 5pm to 9pm and give the gift of life!  And if you're camping at Diamond Lake on Friday night . . . you just drive your golf carts over to us and we'll take your blood too!  It's a GREAT cause and we definitely want all you folks from the campground to join in the celebration!

Our 12-hour Relay officially begins at 6pm with opening ceremonies!!   I will be emceeing and will be joined by Lauren Payne, who will sing the National Anthem!  By the way, Lauren will blow you away!  Her voice is truly a "bomb bursting in air!"  She's WONDERFUL!  We'll also be joined by the Daviess County High School Chamber Choir, who'll be performing two songs!  Suzanne Miles, field rep for U.S. Congressman Brett Guthrie will join us a for a few words, as will the two scholarship winners from the American Cancer Society!

At 6:10pm, local artist Aaron Kizer will perform one his signature speed paintings!  Aaron is a wonder to watch!  He paints UPSIDE DOWN and the crowd goes wild when they finally put the pieces together and see what this visual arts master has created!  ACS and Relay want to thank Aaron for graciously offering to donate his work to our silent auction!

And, speaking of that auction, you DO NOT WANT TO MISS IT!  The Relay For Life Silent Auction is becoming quite the hot ticket!  Each of our record number of 66 teams will be bringing an item up for bid!  In fact, one team, Pam's Pampered Partners, is actually bringing over 20 items themselves!  This auction is HUGE and there truly is something for everyone!  And EVERYONE is invited to come by and bid!  The Silent Auction will be open from 5pm to 8:45pm!  Happy bidding!!

At 6:30pm, we'll be treated to a special track-side performance by the Trinity High School Raiderette Dance Team!  They'll be performing a routine that took them to the State Tournament in February! 

At 6:45, we'll kick off the actual Relay with one of our signature tributes . . . the Survivor Ceremony!  All survivors in attendance will introduce themselves and take a victory lap around the Diamond Lake Go-Cart track!  This is a moving event and a true testament to the human spirit!  If you are a cancer survivor, you are encouraged to come join us and celebrate your triumph!  (This part of the evening is one of my favorites!  I love to stand on the observation platform and watch the sea of survivors circle the track!  It's chilling and moving and I always find myself fighting back and wiping away tears! )  The Survivor Ceremony is proof that Relay is working!  Together, we are raising money for the fight against cancer and the fact that we have survivors demonstrates how far we've come in this war!

At 7:15, we'll introduce all the teams who have joined us for the 2011 Relay For Life!  And, we have EXCITING news!!  With 66 teams and counting, the Daviess County Relay has shattered its all-time record!!

Now, brace yourselves, at 7:30, we are bringing back a former Relay tradition . . . the MR. RELAY CONTEST!  Yes!  We have men from a variety of teams competing in a BEAUTY PAGEANT!!  After you meet the contestants, they will work the event (just like RuPaul!!) trying to raise the most money!  The winner will be crowned Mr. Relay 2011!  The contestant who raises the least amount of money will have to KISS A PIG!!!  And, no, I'm not kidding!!  We have a real pig and it's puckered up and ready to smootch!!  Trust me when I tell you . . .  you don't want to miss contestants like Ivona and Anita Cure competing for top honors!  Oh, and I can't forget our official Mistress of Ceremonies . . . Christina Boarman, the reigning Miss Teen Daviess County!

The fun and celebration continue at 7:45 with the bluegrass-country trio Straight Laced!  They're followed by the band King's Highway!  We love having live music track-side at Relay and do our very best to round up acts from various genres to entertain!  And we have to send a big shout-out to all the acts who have agreed to join us and share their talents with us!

While those two acts are playing, you'll be encouraged to sign up for some of our coolest Relay events!  We'll be hosting the always popular SCAVENGER HUNT and lists will be made available at 8pm!  (By the way, I have seen the list and you better start brushing up on your dumpster diving skills.  LOL!!!)  We'll also be accepting entries for our brand new karaoke contest . . . RELAY IDOL!!  Our winner will snag an awesome trophy and more goodies!!  And, we'll be enrolling people in our 100 LAP CLUB!  The folks who are brave enough to walk 100 laps around the Diamond Lake Go-Cart track will each get a commemorative T-shirt, but they'll also be entered in an exclusive raffle to win 4-Day passes to the CMA MUSIC FESTIVAL!!!!!  Reba, Blake, Miranda, Rascal Flatts, Darius, Taylor, Zac Brown Band, and a whole bunch more!  One of our lucky walkers is going to get tickets to EVERY NIGHT OF THE FESTIVAL!!!!  So, put on your walking shoes!!

At 9pm . . . we will have our LUMINARY CEREMONY!  This IS the most powerful event of the night.  We'll cut off the lights to the track and we'll stand in remembrance and reflection as we pay tribute to all our friends and family members who have lost the battle to cancer.  I think every person who listens to this radio station knows someone who has battled cancer and lost and this stirring tribute truly unifies us all.  Joining us for the ceremony this year will be WBKR midday gal, Jaclyn Graves.  She will be singing our 2011 St. Jude original song, "There's Another Star in the Sky." 

At 10pm, we are having our first ever Relay Parade!  And, since Party Gras is our event theme this year, it's only appropriate that we are throwing a PARTY GRAS PARADE!!!  We have invited Diamond Lake's campers to decorate their golf carts . . . so we fully expect to have some awesome floats!!!  We've invited the Daviess County High School Drumline to lead us in the march!  And we're inviting our Mr. Relay contestants to walk the track and throws beads to all the spectators!!  The parade is going be a BLAST!!  So, join us trackside and enjoy!  Or, better yet, get in costume and become part of the spectacle!

At 10:30, more live music is coming your way as Relay For Life welcomes Amanda Barnett from Rockport, Indiana!  Amanda is currently studying voice at Belmont in Nashville and she sings like a bird!  Last year, she was 1st Runner-Up in the Daymar Scholarship Showcase.  She has MAJOR pipes! 

At 11pm, we'll announce the winner of Mr. Relay!  You definitely don't want to miss what will surely be an emotional crowning ceremony!  LOL!  And, you definitely don't want to miss our last-place contestant going to lips-to-lips with a real, live pig!  (Now, just for the record, I have personally offered to kiss the pig first to prove it's harmless.  I love bacon and figure that's the next best thing to big old package of Emge!)

At 11:30, we have more live music track-side with Nailed Too.  They'll be leading us up to our big BIRTHDAY PARTY!  The American Cancer Society is the "official sponsor of birthdays" and we thought it only fitting to round up 300-400 cupcakes and have huge party!  So, wipe the icing off your face and bring on the kazoos!!

At 12:15, we have more live music from Darby Haas!  And we want to thank Darby for being brave enough to take the 12:15 spot!  We know it's late, but we are THRILLED she offered to come share her talents with us!  Darby, thanks for rocking out our midnight hour!

When Darby finishes her set, the RELAY games will begin!!!  We have the Bubble Gum Ice Cream Game, Relay Idol, the Newspaper Costume Contest, Team Scrabble Lap Game, Frozen T-Shirt Game, our version of Minute To Win It, and our Donut On The String game.  In all these games, you have a chance to win trophies, ribbons, prizes and, of course, BRAGGIN' RIGHTS!!!

At 4:30am, we'll wake everyone up with LINE DANCING!!!  We're going to Cha-Cha Slide, do the Cupid Shuffle and, heck, maybe even the Chicken Dance!  It's going to be 4:30 in the morning, we're gonna need SOMETHING to wake us up!!  Trust me!  I will personally be walking around looking like something that fell out of Night of the Living Dead.

Then, at 5:30, we'll have our closing ceremony and our FINAL LAP OF THE NIGHT!!!

The 2011 Relay For Life is going to be a wonderful night of celebration.  We're proud of the evening we have planned and you are cordially invited to attend.  Some of you will stay all night and we love you for that!  Some of you will come and leave early!  Heck!  We love you for that!  It's just very important that as many of us as possible rally together to beat this killer!  Last year, I attended the funeral of a childhood friend who was diagnosed with breast cancer.  She wasn't even 40.  I remember sitting in that church with other childhood friends who were all thinking the same thing . . . How did this happen?  How is this possible?

The mission of Relay For Life is to make cancer IMPOSSIBLE!!   Please join us in the battle Friday night at Diamond Lake Campground and Resort!  Don't eat before you come!  We have PLENTY OF FOOD!!  Don't spend your weekly allowance before you come!  We have REALLY COOL STUFF FOR YOU TO BY (and we need your money)!!!!  And, we have a chance for you to win really cool raffle prizes . . . like a 3-night stay at Gaylord Opryland Resort, concert tickets, gift cards and more!  We will have prize drawings all through the night and the only catch is . . . you must be present to win!

See you at Relay!