One of my favorite things about Relay is the "why". Everyone Relays for their own reasons...and this is one of the best ways to visualize all the different reasons we Relay.
My first year of a team tee was in 2003, when I was the captain of the St. Charlie's Angels team - filled with kids from the St. Charles Youth group. Each of the kids picked someone that they loved who had survived and someone who passed away from cancer, and Relayed for them.
The only year that our team tee held just one name was in 2004...the first year of our Merrill Lynch team. That year, one of the advisors in our office, John Moller, was diagnosed with glioblastoma, and passed away six months to the day from his first seizure in the office. We Relayed for him.
In the years following, as more of our Merrill family was affected by cancer, we expanded the team shirt to include the names of those we celebrate and those we've lost. Each year, the names grew longer.
2008 is the first year for our Connolly, Tacon & Meserve team. It's the first team tee (out of six) where Mama G is listed under "remember"...
The names Jonathan and I personally added to the list this year...
We Relay to Celebrate our Survivors
Kay Bottenfield
Rich Brown
Kathleen Devin
Tony Marino
Bill Roberts
Dave Stickland
We Relay to Remember Those We've Lost
Corazon "Mama G" Gatbunton
Jan Halliday
Monica Lyons
John Moller
Mary Sprouffske
In addition, the sisters (Kathie, Debbie and Cindy) have a handful of names included that are included in those close to them. We are Relaying together through our teams, even though we are now in different events.
It leads to the question...why do you Relay? Who do you Relay for?
2 comments:
I thank you for remembering my mommy! I would love to purchase one of your tees if I can, what an honor-Love ya! robin
I Relay for my dad's mom, John's beloved Aunt Cordelia and my sorority sister Kelly, all of whom lost battles with cancer. I Relay for my mom's mom, my best friend's mom and MANY friends who have battled cancer and won. I Relay because my dad was just treated for skin cancer. Selfishly, I Relay for John and me and our children and our siblings so that we may never face the disease, and if we do, that we know there's a cure. We Relay for hope.
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