(Seguin) — There’s 2 million reasons to celebrate this year’s Guadalupe County Relay for Life. Misti Abrameit-Guenther a longtime supporter and organizer for the event, says the local effort has no doubt reached a milestone year in its fight against cancer.
“Guadalupe County Relay for Life has hit 20 years. That’s such a big milestone. The secondary part of that is in 20 years, we have hit $2 million raised by Guadalupe County Relay for Life and of course, the community has absolutely helped us to do that. That’s such a big deal. That is so much money going toward cancer research and different programs such as Reach to Recovery, Road to Recovery, Look Good, Feel Good and that just says so much about how much we are donating in being able to help find the cure, find better treatment for cancer,” said Guenther.
Guenther says despite the evolution of the American Cancer Society event over the years, the goal of Relay has not changed AND reminds the community that it’s impact is not only local, but nationwide.
“The first year was probably a little bit harder than other years because of the fact that it was the first year. People did not understand what it was and what it meant. So, the first year, I still remember it being a great year. I remember how exciting it was to be that senior in high school and here you were and it was an all night event. Then you had to stay on the track and walk and over the next 20 years, Relay has evolved. There have been many changes that have occurred. We are no longer an all night event. What they found is that it didn’t require to be an all night (event). We found that the beginning of the night truly was when most of the money — because ultimately this is a fundraiser and bringing awareness to cancer research, cancer prevention, preventative type medicine and of course, trying to bring in the almighty dollar so that we can continue to fight this awful disease – so it has evolved greatly. It’s had its spurts where we had just an abundance of teams. Some of the years where we had our lowest amount of teams, we still raised the same thing when there was so many teams. This is a nationwide program. Our little community has really done big things on the map,” said Guenther.
Guenther says Relay for Life, for her and many others, has been a personal journey. She says it’s about putting all their efforts and volunteerism behind a worthwhile cause. She says there’s nothing more important than helping to save lives.
“I guess I show my age but in 1999 is when I graduated and that year, it was at the high school. So, I was very excited because I wasn’t on the leadership team for several years but I have been a part of Relay in some form or fashion for I’m going to have to say since the beginning. I do have to point one person out though because we have to remember that so much of our thankfulness in the ability to have Relay for Life of Guadalupe County goes back to Earlene Jarzombek. She has the mindset. She wanted to make it happen and she made it happen. She brought Relay for Life of Guadalupe County to Guadalupe County in 1999 and she has been a part ever since. She has always been there for all the questions, answers and so it’s a huge celebration and huge kudos to her for 20 years of being able to keep this event going and just being the support, the backbone of the event,” said Guenther.
The countdown to this year’s Relay for Life has officially begun. This year’s event kicks off at 5 p.m. Saturday at The El Fiesta Ballroom on Interstate 10. This year’s theme is Fiesta.