The Ultimate 'Survivors'
Relay for Life organizer puts out casting call

With balloon in one hand and pancakes in the other, Scarlett Sellerc does her part to raise money for the American Cancer Society at a pancake breakfast held Saturday morning at Applebee's. The annual Relay for Life will be this weekend. [Photo by Jeremy Schneider/Independent]

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Joyce Graves is looking for a few more cancer survivors to join her this Friday evening.

Graves, a cancer survivor and the chairwoman of the Gallup McKinley Relay For Life, has spent the last year coordinating efforts to reach out to other cancer survivors and invite them to this weekend's Relay For Life.

But she's hoping a few more cancer survivors, their family members, and their friends will hear about Relay this week and decide to join the celebration.

Sponsored by the American Cancer Society, Relay is a fund-raising event to promote the prevention and treatment of cancer, and it is also an event that honors the memory of individuals who have died from cancer. But at its heart, it's an event that celebrates the lives of cancer survivors and their fight against the disease.

This year's sixth annual Gallup McKinley Relay For Life will begin at 5 p.m. on Friday at the Gallup Sports Complex. It will run all night long and conclude by 9 a.m. on Saturday. The event is always held all-night long to symbolize the idea that the disease of cancer never sleeps. In a night packed with entertainment, fun, and fellowship, this year's Relay will include the annual activities for cancer survivors, the parade of Relay teams, the luminaria ceremony, and fun events like a dance contest, lap poker, a scavenger hunt, and the "Mr. Relay Contest."

"Relay is for anybody," said Graves in a recent interview. Some people have the mistaken idea, she said, that only cancer survivors or members of Relay fund raising teams should attend the event. In reality, everyone is welcome to attend, particularly during Friday evening's festival-like activities.

And although the Gallup Relay is mostly focused on the city of Gallup and McKinley County, individuals from other communities are encouraged to attend.

Since Gallup's first Relay For Life in 2000, the event has grown each year in the number of community members volunteering on fund raising teams, the number of cancer survivors attending the Relay, and the amount of money raised for the American Cancer Society.

According to Graves, the 2000 Relay featured about a dozen teams that raised approximately $22,000. Last year's Relay had 29 teams that raised $68,000.

The 2005 Relay will feature 28 teams from the community, Graves said, with 10 of them being new. All 28 teams are required to schedule different team members to be on the sports track throughout the overnight event thus the "relay" theme of the event. Team members are not required, however, to spend all night at the Sports Complex, but a number of hardy folks do.

Seventy-five area cancers survivors attended last year's Relay For Life. "We would like to have over 100 this year," said Graves, who encouraged survivors to call her and let her know they will attend Friday's festivities. "Our main goal this year was to get more survivors involved," she added.

Based on her experience of being the local Relay chairwoman for the last five years, Graves believes participating in the Relay weekend is a very healing experience for many cancer survivors.

It has also become a huge part of Graves' life. A retired kindergarten teacher with the Gallup McKinley County Schools, Graves has found a new calling in life with her volunteer work with Relay and her efforts to reach out to other cancer survivors.

"It's a true passion," Graves admitted. "I could not imagine not doing it."

Businesses interested in offering support to Relay For Life can sponsor informational posters that will posted around the track.

Luminarias can also be purchased at five dollars each for Friday's luminaria ceremony. Friends and family members can honor the memory of a cancer victim by sponsoring a luminaria, which will be lit during the candlelight service at 9:30 p.m.

For more information about this weekend's Relay For Life, contact Joyce Graves at (505) 863-3075.