Mother Nature put a damper on this year”s Relay for Life event, which was scheduled for Friday at the Magnolia Bowl, due to windy and rainy conditions during the late afternoon and evening hours.
According to Lowndes County Relay For Life Team Development Coordinator Mott Ellis, more than 72 teams signed up to participate in the 11th annual event, scheduled from 6 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday. It was canceled due to the inclement weather.
Ellis said team captains and Relay for Life committee members are scheduled to meet 6 p.m. Tuesday at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle to discuss their next course of action. The meeting will take place in education rooms 4 and 5, she said.
“We need all team captains and committee members to be there to discuss what we”re going to do,” Ellis said.
The group might organize a luminary service, she said.
Among the canceled festivities this weekend were games and activities for children, food and musical entertainment.
Ellis said teams began setting up for the event Thursday evening and into Friday morning.
“We had some teams who set up to prepare steak and chicken plates to sell, but they weren”t able to sell anything,” she said.
She said it was “heartbreaking and discouraging” that the event was canceled with all the planning that took place.
“As team development coordinator, the committees start working in September in order to get ready for it in April,” she said.
Lowndes County Relay for Life Chairman Lenny Ring said the event was officially canceled Friday around 8:30 p.m.
“We thought we were going to start around 9, but because of the heavy rains off and on, we decided it was best to go ahead and cancel. Raising money is important, but being safe is a priority,” he said.
Ring added that 57 teams had tents set up at the Magnolia Bowl, and members had to come and take up their tent and supplies when it was announced the event was canceled. He hopes the Relay for Life committee and team captains can set up another event.
“We are planning to see if we can have an event at the hospital track or somewhere. No date has been determined. This will be for cancer survivors and for those who have passed on. This is what Relay for Life is for,” he said.
Ring said Relay for Life teams who have not turned in their donations can do so at Tuesday”s meeting. He said of the money that had been turned in to date, more than $113,000 had been raised, with more to come
“We set a goal to raise about $140,000,” he said. “Each team has set their own goals on how much hey want to raise. They have until Aug. 31 to meet their goals.”
Although things did not go as planned for this year”s Relay For Life event, Ellis said they will get ready for next year
“We”ll just keep fighting, and hope for good things to happen next year,” she said.
Allen Baswell was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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