Relay for Life to conduct training for team captains

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Bourbon County Relay for Life members are planning to go back to school next month.

A planning committee for the organization, which works to raise money for the American Cancer Society and its services, recently announced that the 2008 Relay for Life group plans to conduct its first-ever Bourbon County Relay University -- a four-hour training seminar -- next month in Fort Scott. Both the ACS and the Relay for Life organization are working to find a cure for the deadly disease that kills hundreds of thousands of people each year.

The seminar is scheduled to take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 9, at Key Industries, located at 400 Marble Road in the Fort Scott Industrial Park. Relay for Life officials have dubbed the event a "Spring Training Seminar" in following the sports-related theme the organization chose for its seven-month campaign last fall. The 2008 Relay for Life campaign kicked off in October 2007, with several fund raising events planned through June 2008, when the group's all-night relay walk and cancer memorial takes place.

The objective of the seminar is to provide Relay for Life team captains -- the organization is trying to recruit 50 teams this year -- with information on organizing and starting a Relay for Life team, officials said.

"It will give them (team captains) enough information to help them help themselves," Bourbon County Relay for Life publicity chairwoman Marilyn Landers said. "It's the first one we've tried. They're already doing this statewide."

Planning committee members and other Relay for Life members will assist those who attend the seminar. The guest speaker for the event will be ACS High Plains Division Community Health Manager Grant Deardorff, who will present attendees with an overview of the content featured in the seminar, which includes such topics as organizing a team, delegating responsibilities, and registering team information online at the organization's Web site, www.acsevents.org/bourboncounty, Landers said. Other topics that will be discussed include goal-setting and fundraising.

The Bourbon County Relay for Life is still trying to recruit teams that will try to raise $75,000 this year through corporate sponsorship, donations from the community, and the sales of luminaries -- small paper bags that contain candles and feature the names of cancer patients, survivors, victims and caregivers. Hundreds of people turn out each year to watch or participate in the annual relay walk and other activities and events that take place at Frary Field near Fort Scott High School.

The free seminar is open to team captains, team members and their guests, as well as any local residents who are interested in putting their own Relay for Life team together, or learning more information about the group's efforts, Landers said. A light luncheon and refreshments will be served.

Reservations for the event, which are required along with registration, must be made by Feb. 4 by calling Relay for Life member Wendy Budd at (620) 223-4912, or by e-mailing Relay for Life co-chairwoman Kristie Maycumber at jmaycumber@sbcglobal.net.