Our View: Congrats to Relay For Life - Another job well done

Woodbury had another terrific Relay For Life this year — in spite of a figurative hurdle organizers had to tackle.

Its usual location, the Woodbury High School track, was unavailable for use due to a reconstruction project currently underway. So, the event needed a home elsewhere.

Fortunately, the Relay didn’t have to move too far, as it was staged on a temporary track in Woodbury’s Ojibway Park.

The organizers and participants of the 2008 Relay For Life of Woodbury should feel justifiably proud of their efforts.

They successfully met the challenge of relocating their event, — while still taking on all the other “opportunities” typically associated with the Relay — with enthusiasm and perseverance.

The Relay, the premier fundraising venue for the Amercian Cancer Society, continues to grow as a major event and an important element in the battle against cancer.

Cancer has touched us all and hopefully a cure will be found one day. However, that cure will remain unknown unless we all can work together and find it. That’s why the Relay is such an important event.

It brings cancer to the forefront and places it on our radar screens. That awareness should prompt us to either volunteer our time or donate to the cause.

Special thanks should go to co-chairs Pam Olson, Mary LaPrairie and Michelle Alpers.

Kudos are also due to the team captains, team members, volunteer organizers, corporate sponsors and all others who devoted their time, talents, energy — and money — to the Relay For Life.

This year’s event had added poignancy due to Woodbury Mayor Bill Hargis’ announcement made at the 2008 Relay that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

We hope the ongoing efforts of Relay For Life may prove to directly benefit Bill and his family, as well as the rest of us.

Tags: opinion, relay, li e, woodbury, hargis