- April 18, 2024
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Last weekend's Ormond Beach Relay for Life event drew more than 1,000 people and raised more than $37,000.
BY MIKE CAVALIERE | ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Cold, rainy weather couldn't spoil the fun at last weekend's Ormond Beach Relay for Life.
Huddled inside the Coca-Cola Pavilion at Destination Daytona, more than 1,000 cancer survivors, caregivers and sponsors gathered. Some in full costume, people walked, skipped and skated around a paper bag-lined track, as youth dance troupes flipped batons and music blasted in the center. Game booths were set up. Some people sat in rocking chairs, watching sports. Others downed fistfuls of popcorn and tried for a hole-in-one on makeshift putting greens.
Seabreeze High School's Culinary Academy hurriedly prepared and served food. The Mainland High School Junior ROTC Color Guard presented arms during the National Anthem, sung by Jenny Simmons, during opening ceremonies.
The energy and optimism inside of that pavilion, in spite of the storm clouds all around it, reflected the tone of the initiative as a whole. Everywhere you looked, signs and banners with the words "HOPE," "FIGHT BACK" and "YOLO" were displayed.
The 18-hour event wasn't at all about sorrow, or even solemn remembrance. It was about spirit.
Coordinator Shelly Ham, who made it her mission to rebrand the Relay this year, says the event raised more than $8,000, bringing this year's Relay total to more than $37,000 Donations in the form of advertising, gifts and prizes totaled another $20,000..
"I am a cancer vixen, not victim," said Lynn Kelley, one of the Relay's featured survivors, at the start of the event. She was diagnosed with cancer in 2010, and initially she resisted chemotherapy. What's the point? she wondered. Chemo would make her sick, make her hair fall out, make her worse than she already was.
But eventually, her doctor convinced her to reconsider. And she's glad he did.
"I actually look forward to my chemo treatments (now)," she said. "It's like going to a luncheon with girlfriends."
But more than the physical effects, she said cancer has made her a better person because it's changed her thinking.
"My doctor is in charge of my body," she said. "But I'm in charge of my mind and my thoughts. ... I think that you're about as happy as you want to be."
After the opening ceremony, emceed by disk jockeys Kaylee and Tremble from VYB 103.3, the survivors walked a lap on their own while everyone else applauded. Attendees lined the track to clap and cheer, just like the walkers' lives depended on it.
Top talent: Relay Idol
The event''s Relay Idol singing contest winners are listed as follows.
1st Place: Tess Therrien
2nd Place: Dana Ordway
3rd Place: Laura Ordway
4th Place: Elisa Gabella-Poission
5th Place: Melissa Trumble
Audience Votes Winner: Cassidy Van Brink
Top Vocal Score (Teen): Cassidy Van Brink
Top Vocal Score (Teen): Elisa Gabella-Poission
Top Stage Presence (Teen): Jomardrick Wilson
Top Stage Presence (Teen): Brandy Dougherty
