The organizers of Scotland County’s Relay for Life expect this year’s event to see the largest participant pool yet.
Relay for Life will be held on Sept. 21-22 at Scotland High School’s Pate Stadium, the 16th annual Scotland County event. This year, Relay for Life will be themed “State Fair.”
“To me, just on first brush, it appears that we’re going to have a bigger event this year than we did last year,” said Stewart Thomas, who co-chairs Relay for Life of Scotland County with his wife Carol. “We really haven’t had a down year until last year, since the economy’s been down.”
Last year’s event raised about $265,000 for the American Cancer Society, down $20,000 from the year before.
The weeks before Relay are usually dotted with fund raising events held by teams from businesses, schools, and churches around the county, and this year promises to be no exception.
On Saturday, the Pilkington Relay for Life team will hold a cornhole tournament at Jerry’s Restaurant. On Aug. 25, a poker run will be held in memory of Vicky Peele, with all proceeds donated to Relay for Life. For information or to participate in the poker run, contact 610-3137.
According to Thomas, Relay 2012 is so far shaping up to outstrip last year’s result. The kickoff meeting for Relay 2012, held in April, counted eight new fund raising teams among its attendees.
“We’ve got new teams, new fundraisers, new corporate sponsors, and it just seems like the interest is continuing to increase,” he said. “We’re very optimistic that we’re going to have another big year this year.”
Another lead-up to Relay for Life is the cancer survivor’s dinner, which will be held at 6 p.m. on Sept. 10 at Laurinburg Presbyterian Church.
Anyone interested in volunteering, starting a Relay team, or becoming a corporate sponsor should call 276-5247 or attend Monday’s team captain’s meeting, which will begin at 6 p.m. at Scotland Memorial Hospital’s Dulin Center.
“We really would invite anyone in the community who wants to get involved,” Thomas said.














