Cancer survivors celebrate life

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM--As the sun began to set on Friday evening, people of all ages from the New Ulm area gathered at the track of the grandstand at the Brown County Fairgrounds for the annual Relay For Life, an event organized by local businesses and the American Cancer Society.

The opening ceremonies for this year's relay began at 7 p.m. Organizer Beth Zabel addressed the crowd from a small stage and thanked each member of the steering committee for their help and participation by giving them a small white candle. Zabel also invited representatives of the walk's corporate sponsors to the stage for recognition. The sponsors this year were Hy-Vee, Dittrich Specialties, New Ulm Telecom, The Journal, Wells Fargo, Alliance Bank, Norwood Promotional Products, D & A Trucking and the Brown County Agricultural Society.

"I am very pleased and privileged to bring this event to you," Zabel told the crowd.

The first heat of the race began with a group of 150 local cancer survivors, who spoke their name and the number of years they've struggled with cancer into a microphone as they passed by a small crowd in the bleachers. Some of the participants in the survivor's lap were senior citizens who fought cancer for 30 years. Others were children who only had a few months with the disease. The survivors were lead by an American Legion color guard as they walked the length of the racetrack. The heats continued well into the night.

At 9 p.m., participants lit luminaries--bags with candles inside them--inscribed with the names of people who currently struggle with cancer and those who have died as a result of the disease.

The Relay For Life ends Saturday, 7 a.m.