BY IVAN SANDERS

STAR STAFF

ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com

Some have wondered what happened to Carter County’s Relay for Life, which generally took place in June that helped to raise money for the American Cancer Society to identify a cure for cancer.

The answer is very simple according to 2019 Relay for Life Chairwoman Nan Carver.

“We will have the Relay for Life event on Saturday, September 28th at the Covered Bridge in Elizabethton,” Carver said about a new date and location for the event.

“The City of Elizabethton has been working with us to get Relay for Life built back up to where it needs to be. We are hoping to paint the town purple for the week leading up to the event.”

Carver said the event had been previously held at the TCAT center during June, but she is hoping that with the event being moved to September and on a Saturday that there will be more teams able to participate in raising money for cancer research.

“We are having a committee meeting on July 16th at Watauga Point Methodist Church located at 409 Gap Creek Road starting at 6:30 pm for anyone interested in being on the committee for planning purposes,” Carver said.

“Also, if anyone just wants information on Relay for Life and what it does, this would be a good time to come out as well.”

In the past, the event has lasted overnight, but this year the program will begin at 3 pm and run to 10 pm with the cancer survivor walk slated to kick off the walk and the caregivers will join in on the second lap.

Carver said that this year’s goal for Relay for Life has been set at $50,000 and that it is going to take a team effort to reach such a lofty but important goal.

“So far we have eight teams that have signed up and we need more,” Carver added. “We are also going to be hitting the ground to secure sponsorships from businesses and individuals as well.”

One of the things that will continue will be the illuminated bags that have sold in the past for $5 where someone can purchase a bag in memory of someone, in honor of a survivor, or in honor of a caregiver.

The names of those for whom the bags are purchased will be read at dusk.

Survivors will also be special guest for a dinner held in their honor on Tuesday before Relay for Life takes place. Once registered, the survivors will receive a special invitation inviting them to the dinner.

Carver is hoping that with the downtown car show going on the same night that the carnival-themed event will draw a large crowd to the Covered Bridge and Relay for Life.

For those that worry that they will miss the Tennessee Vols or ETSU Bucs football game, Carver went on to add that Tennessee if off that weekend and the Bucs will be out of town.

“Our teams will be able to set up tents to sell things from to help them earn more money for their team as well as we will have information tables set up about the different types of cancer,” Carver continued.

‘We will have a lot of fun things to take part in and have some bands already committed to providing music entertainment for the event.”

The bands that will be performing so far include the Jerry Pierce Band, Stemwinder, and 5iveMor.

Even though a large portion of the money goes to cancer research, some of the money raised from Relay for Life stays locally with organizations like Look Good-Feel Better that makes sure that survivors have the proper wigs and makeup.

Also, Reach to Recovery is a service that provides transportation to cancer survivors.

Teams and survivors are encouraged to register as soon as possible by going to the website www.relayforlife.org and searching for Carter County.

Once there, teams can register to participate in the event and survivors can register so they can be a part of the dinner and survivor walk.

For more information, Carver can be reached by cell at 423-268-3555 or via email at nan.carver9@gmail.com.