How was the event and what activities were held during it?

This year&8217;s event went very, very well. I think the committee did an excellent job of preparation. We had an excellent survivor&8217;s reception held at the Copeland Building and the Relay went very smoothly. A lot of people had a lot of fun. We had some little games and events that a lot of people enjoyed. Everybody enjoy the luminaria service. A lot of people&8217;s tent sites were a lot more elaborate this year and that was kind of neat that they were getting more involved with that.

How many people were in attendance throughout the event?

I would say there were about 400 people there throughout the night. I was absolutely pleased with the attendance. Fundraising in general went very well. Most all of the teams increased (above last year). I think more and more people are getting involved and more and more people are coming to the Relay. So, I am getting excited that Relay is growing.

How did the teams do with fundraising?

The majority of the teams met their goals. We had maybe one or two teams that didn&8217;t increase this year (in comparison to last year). Rock-Tenn Company raised over $17,000. They did an excellent job.

Was the overall goal met?

Within about $5, we are right at $64,000. We made our goal by about $45. People came out to the Relay and helped get us to that goal. Obviously the paper helped out, publicizing the event for us. I think a lot more people are getting more aware of things that are going on in the community and are taking of coming out, even if they didn&8217;t raise all year round. If they just come out and spend 10 minutes and buy a dinner it helps us out that way. We had about $6,000 turned in on Relay day. It was awesome. We had a good time at the event.

Who were the individual and team winners for the Relay and how did they fund-raise their monies?

Rock-Tenn was the first (team winner). The hospital (Bryan Whitfield Memorial Hospital) was the second. They raised $8,700. I think not having a huge fund-raiser was the thing. I know Rock-Tenn had a big golf tournament and that helped. But a lot of the other teams, they just had small things, once a month, and all year round, selling hot dogs or having cake auctions. If you have that just once a month, all year round, then you don&8217;t over exert yourself in trying to plan this huge elaborate fundraising thing, but at the same time you are making money. I think more and more teams are catching on to that and it&8217;s affecting the increase in our money. The bank was not far behind the hospital. They raised about $8,400. Those top three did really, really well. The Linden Quest Club did well. They were in the $7,000 range. They usually raise about twice that, but they have a new staff and they are learning how to do things. But they did really well. The biggest individual fundraiser was Tommy Vice. He raised over $2,800. We awarded him a huge trophy.

How well do you feel the plans for the Relay were executed?

It was beautiful weather and beautiful scenery; right by the river, that was neat, definitely a good place to have it. Also, we don&8217;t have a huge committee, but each person does their job and that&8217;s important for the preparation for a Relay. It almost takes eight months for preparing for an event like that. I think as far as everybody doing their jobs the Relay went really well and everything went really smoothly. That&8217;s because of preparation.

How does this year compare to year&8217;s past?

This year we did really well in sponsorships. We doubled our sponsorship&8217;s goal, which is included in our overall goal. But, we did really well with sponsorships. Peggy (Dunklin) headed that up and did a good job on that. Teams, almost all of them increased in their money and did real well. If we got more teams on board, it would help the Relay continue to grow, I think.

What plans have been made for next year&8217;s Relay?

We don&8217;t have any individual for the chairperson for next year, but we have had three or four people step up and say &8216;I would love to help out.&8217; We are going to have a lot more people on the committee this year. People are really excited about it and it&8217;s kind of neat to see the Relay and to see how encouraging the event is. So that is neat to experience and to get more people involved and more aware. We&8217;ve got a good committee for next year and we are really excited about it. You continue to improve each year. We&8217;ve done really well in sponsorships this year, so we are going to try and increase that and try to get more teams involved. We want to try and get more school and churches involved. Generally those are two groups that usually get real involved with Relay and get real excited about the events. The get real involved, have youth groups involved or class competitions and stuff like that. So, we are trying to get the schools and churches involved as well.