2005 Relay for Life aims to break $100,000 mark

Timeless themes of powerful bonds forged through adversity and the battle against cancer will be heard this weekend at the eighth annual Relay for Life in Harrison County. South Harrison Community School Corp. will host the popular event at the Corydon Campus track.
Relay for Life is a moving celebration of survival, and also a fund-raiser for research and patient services. Founded in 1985 in Washington state, Relay for Life appeared in 3,300 communities in the United States and eight foreign countries last year.
The 2004 event here raised a record $95,000, the biggest total to date. The Relay committee began making plans just three weeks later for the 2005 Relay, and committee members hope to raise more than $100,000 this weekend.
Team and survivor registration begin at 5 on Friday evening.
Live entertainment includes music by Hollie Sexton, Roobix and Original Intent. Participatory entertainment includes karaoke; Fear Factor and Relay Idol contests; and euchre, volleyball and three-on-three basketball tournaments.
Cancer survivor Greg Carter will be the guest speaker. He has written a book on surviving cancer and is a minister at Grace Tabernacle in Laconia.
The Uesseler Chicken Dinners return at 5 p.m. Friday at $6 a plate.
Tyson is donating the chicken, the Moose Lodge will grill, and Jimbo’s Barbecue is donating the baked beans. Slaw and dinner rolls are courtesy of O’Charley’s. Drinks will include tea and lemonade.
Beginning at noon Friday, lunch will also be served at the Moose Lodge on Chestnut Street, said Donn Blank, food committee chair.
After the aroma of grilled chicken begins to permeate the town, Blank said, ‘People start wandering in (to the Moose Lodge), wanting to know, ‘Where’s that smell coming from?’
Dinners will also be available for take-out.
Most campsites will have carnival activities in keeping with this year’s Relay Carnival theme. Among those will be a charity dunking booth and a charity pie toss.
Pie targets lead off with Sheriff Mike Deatrick at 6:45 p.m. Friday and finish with Corydon Democrat Editor Randy West and Harrison County Chief Probation Officer Diane Harrison at 8:45.
Friday’s dunking begins with Harrison County Prosecutor Dennis Byrd at 6 p.m. and ends with Corydon Chief Marshal Jim Kendall at 8:30.
The event that puts the ‘relay’ in Relay for Life begins Friday at 6 p.m. with the Survivor Lap followed by the Caregiver Lap. The benefit auction begins at 6:30 (see ad in Classifieds for a list of auction items) and candles will be lit at 9:30 for the Luminary Ceremony.
Shirley’s Breakfast will be served beginning at 7:30 a.m. Saturday. It will include biscuits and sausage gravy, doughnuts, coffee and orange juice, beginning at 6:30 a.m. Saturday. There is no charge, but donations will be accepted.
A car show, a first for the relay, will be open from 9 a.m. until noon on Saturday.
Sponsors for the 2005 Relay for Life include First Harrison Bank, Caesars Indiana, Tyson Foods, Century 21 Champion, Wal-Mart, O’Charley’s, Harrison County Community Foundation and Harrison County Hospital.