April 20, 2008
If you heard a big whoosh Friday night it wasn't the wind.  It was the sound of the Marshall North Relay For Life blowing past their fundraising goal with a new record.  Preliminary figures have topped $175,000 and may reach $185,000 once all teams have reported and all monies are collected.  The goal had been set at $146,000.  Tawanna Vickers and Shannon Barksdale, who headed the Marshall North efforts were, tired but ecstatic about the results.  Barksdale said that approximately forty-eight teams participated in the fund raising drive.  Thirty-four manned booths at the Arab Soccer Field Complex and another fourteen teams were offsite.  Some of the offsite teams still have to turn in their money.

Both Vickers and Barksdale said the only disappointment was the heavy rain which caused the scheduled twelve hour event to be shortened to about 5 hours.  Most teams had plans to provide activities for the entire 12 hour period.  Because of the rain, Relay officials had to postpone the team recognitions' scheduled for Saturday morning.  Vickers said a special date will be set soon and all teams will be invited to the recognition event.

While the event featured fun and food for the participants, two special events were especially moving.  To begin the relay event, cancer survivors were invited to lead the fist lap around the track to honor their accomplishment.  As darkness settled in, hundreds of luminaries were lit in memory of those who have lost their battle with cancer or in honor of those who are currently survivors.  As the field lights were dimmed, the participants followed the trail of luminaries searching for those that honored a friend or family member.

Between 8:30 and 9 pm the expected rain began to fall and became steadily heavier.  While a large portion of the crowds headed for the warmth and dry of their cars, many carried on the walk carrying large umbrellas.  As the rain continued without let-up the decision was made to end the event between 11:30 and midnight.

Barksdale is already making plans for the 2009 relay.  In an interview Sunday afternoon she said they were taking what they learned from this year's event and were making plans to start the planning process even earlier this year.

Barksdale said she was overwhelmed by the turnout and the response of the community.  "Who would have believed that so much money could be raised and so much attention focused on the damage from cancer." Barksdale said.

Photo essay from the event...