Vernon, Texas, a little place on the Texas-Oklahoma line; not much to do here except hang with our friends.  Tonight I offered to cook dinner, so off to the grocery store we went.  If I can avoid WalMart, I will, so we stopped at United and picked up some grub.  Our clerk was an airy twenty-something with a bad attitude.  It didn’t matter how much I cajoled, she just wanted to go home and sleep, “I mean, it’s like, I have to go to this Relay for Life thing tonight, and it goes all night!” she said, with a roll of her eyes.  My ears perked up…Relay is here, tonight??  I started throwing questions at her…what time, where?  She didn’t know much, but at least I had been tipped off and I could figure out the rest on my own.

I have a home Relay, it’s in Blackfoot, Idaho – since the beginning I have been participating.  It’s the one charity I always support.  The American Cancer Society will find the cure for cancer and I’m going to help them do that.  For the last four years, I have been a “Grand Club” member, I just haven’t been to the Relay event itself for awhile.  One thing I do know is that every Relay is different.  I’ve been to my “local” Relays, Idaho Falls, Blackfoot and Pocatello.  All of them have a similar feel, they are of similar size and enthusiasm.  Last year we stopped by a Relay in Colorado Springs while we were there.  This year, it was the Relay for WilbargerCounty held at the Covered Arena in Vernon.

It’s a small relay, only 14 teams, 175 participants.  To date they have raised over $29,000 with a goal of $40,000.  It’s also an early Relay.  In Idaho, we don’t Relay until the weather turns, and then sometimes it’s still a guess.  But even with a small Relay, you could feel the excitement in the air; they were having fun and doing good work.  We met the chairman and the staff partner and thanked them both for the hard work.  If ever you have wondered how much work goes in to an event, wonder no longer…volunteer to help instead.

It’s that time again to get on the band wagon and help raise some money.  I Relay for my Mom and all of us who have been touched by cancer; whether directly or not, we all have a dog in this fight!  Stand up and help, it’s up to all of us to rid the world of cancer, one dollar at a time if we have to.  To make a secure online donation straight to the American Cancer Society; Donate here  http://main.acsevents.org/goto/skrehbiel