Guadalupe, Comal Counties come out to Relay

(Seguin) — Seguin and New Braunfels are often considered rivals. But when it comes to fighting cancer, both communities are proving that they’re “Better Together.”

“Better Together” of course was not only the theme but the result of this year’s Guadalupe & Comal Counties Relay for Life 2022. Held this past weekend at Max Starcke Park, both communities, for the first time, teamed up in the fight against cancer.

Misti Abrameit-Guenther, one of the longtime coordinators for the event, says this year’s Relay for Life was exactly what the two groups had hoped for.

“It’s wonderful. With the American Cancer Society getting hit from the pandemic –– you know they had to do a lot of consolidation so when we heard that Comal County’s (Relay) was going to look a little different than Guadalupe County, we wanted to join them together. We wanted to have one big Relay and it is. It’s better together. So, together, we’ve raised $85,000. Our goal is $100,000. We are going to beat that because we are still going to park cars and raise money at the fair and everything that we are doing today. We’ve enjoyed it. It’s really been nice being able to bring us all together,” said Abrameit-Guenther. 

 On Saturday, teams from the Seguin and New Braunfels area were stationed under the park’s big pavilion. Each hosted its own fundraising booth. From food to games and arts and crafts, teams worked together to raise money for the American Cancer Society and those programs that play a vital role in the everyday lives of cancer patients and their families. More importantly, it allowed them to celebrate the survivors who not only fought the good fight but who continue to fight for others.

 Being in Seguin this year for Relay for Life proved to be extra special for Becky Voges. That’s because Voges says her experience of returning to Seguin holds very special memories.

 “It’s beautiful. We love it and you need to know that my first Relay was in Seguin. I brought my breast cancer support group to Seguin to go to the Relay. I didn’t know what it was and we were just blown away. Our first walk as breast cancer survivors, we were just crying. It was the most beautiful thing that I have ever experienced so I went back and we had an American Cancer Society board that was meeting once a month and I told them, ‘we need to have one of those in New Braunfels and it was because of Seguin that we started our Relay the next year. I feel so so much love for Seguin because they got us started and I love our theme ‘Better Together.’ We put our communities together and we are very very happy with our partnership,” said Voges.

 Although the main Relay for Life fundraiser is over, fundraising for the groups will continue for the remainder of the year. As mentioned, Relay volunteers will be handling the parking at this year’s Guadalupe County Fair and PRCA Rodeo scheduled for Oct. 5-9.

 It has not yet been determined whether both communities will again come together next year for Relay. Nonetheless, volunteers say the goals are the same: finding a cure and ensuring that cancer patients are supported no matter where they live.