Relay For Life event exceeds $60,000 for Underwood hosts
By Brenda L. Shelkey, BHG News Service
True success comes at a price. But most participants in the annual 2010 McLean County Relay for Life event, hosted by the city of Underwood on June 4, would be the first to say that raising over $60,000 is a secondary reward. Pulling together with the common goal to eradicate cancer from our vocabulary would be the primary goal. Success would mean never having to hold another event ever again. For the 35-plus committee members who planned and brought the 2010 event to fruition, watching it all come together was an unbelievably breath-taking joy and relief. All that hard work brought 31 teams from across McLean County together with one purpose – to bring awareness and raise money to fight the stigma of cancer. Committee Event Chairman Renee Fransen was elated with the results. She said, "The evening went super. We couldn’t have asked for a better night." The successful event was the result of contributions of time, effort, and money from every direction. Fransen said, "We had 135 survivors and caregivers attend the survivor supper. That wouldn’t have been a success without the contributions from the community, the preparation of the food by Warehouse Grocery, and the school allowing it to be held here." Dennis Heydt agreed to provide music for the event, but went beyond the call of duty by agreeing to play during afternoon set-up and into the night.
