WATSEKA -- A "Carnival of Hope" theme generated tons of excitement Friday night at Watseka's Blake Field where hundreds of participents helped raise nearlt $139,000 for cancer research.
The 12th annual relay for the American Cancer Society attracted 30 teams, may walking the high school track until 6 am Saturday morning.
Despite the struggling economy, co-chairmen of the event Chris Meredith and Joanna Milligan, said the suport was again "awesome" from the children to adults who make it all happen.
Publicity chairman Diann Peabody provided some fo the latest stats:
2012 Relay For Life of Iroquois County Statistics
The 12th year of Relay in Iroquois County—Began in 2001
Theme: “Carnival of Hope”
Luminaria 1132 exceeded goal of 1,000
Survivors 154 exceeded goal of 150
Earnings $138,809 at midnight on June 9 Was at $115,000 after Bank Night, at $127,000 at 8PM on Friday, June 8, and then at $138,809 by midnight. Could be expected to reach $140,000 within the next month. Goal was $170,000
Corporate sponsorship: $22,500 cash, $19,950 in-kind for a total of $42,450. A record amount for Iroquois County. Thanks to new donors and the continued generous support of previous donors.
Teams: there were 30 contributing teams as of tally on Friday night, June 8
Participants at Relay: estimated at over 500. Final tally will come from online and onsite registrations and the survivor registrations
Individuals contributing $1,000 or more: Sara Kaeb $3,084.75, Jerry Kaeb $2,826.00, and Pam Ristow $2,100.00—from the Fighting Into the Night team of Cissna Park; Gregg Buswell $2,542.81 and Sheila Buswell $2,535.00—from Team Mara of Watseka; Fred Bohlmann $2,034.00 and Mary Williams $2,025.00—from Wolfie’s Walkers team of Watseka; and Dale Schleef $1,920.00 of the Survivors by Faith team of Onarga. There were a total of 20 people contributing $1,000 or more. They are called Grand Club members.
Teams contributing-- Top five teams were Team Mara $13,621.38, Fighting Into the Night $12,686.00, Wolfie’s Walkers $12,593.94, Survivors by Faith $9,724.98, and Pennies From Heaven $9,332.55.
Activities throughout the night: Scott Hawthorne of the Step by Step team from Milford walked around the track 216 times! His team also was judged first in Campsite Decorations. The Wolfie’s Walkers team was recognized for winning the Team Lap award for their costumes. Throughout the night until the closing ceremony at 5:30AM teams participated in games and activities as well as walking. They were awarded points for these different activities. The team earning the most points was First Trust Bank Team (Watseka) with 9,835 points. Four other teams following them in points earned were Super Heroes, Big R, Step by Step, and Team Corey.
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