John Clayton
Greer Relay for Life held Friday night at Dooley Field raised $16,740, bringing the total for this year's fundraising effort to $63,203.99.
John Clayton
Michelle Hempel said the Farmer family lost four matriarchs who died in quick succession of one another after cancer diagnoses, and then other family members died of the dreaded disease. So, the Relay for Life has become both a cause and an exercise in togetherness.
"We have a very large family," Hempel said. "So, it does mean a lot for us to be able to get together here."
The annual Greer Relay for Life held Friday night at Dooley Field raised $16,740, bringing the total for this year's fundraising effort to $63,203.99.
The Relay for Life kicked off with its annual survivors' walk and dinner, which included about 100 cancer survivors.
"I just enjoy this," said Greer Relay for Life Events Coordinator Angela Evington. "Just knowing that I'm helping somebody and helping the cause. My father-in-law died of cancer, a co-worker died of breast cancer, and she was a big supporter of this, so it means a lot to me."
This year's Relay for Life theme went Western with "These Boots Were Made for Walkin' All Over Cancer."
And the Farmers played along with a Native American theme centered around dream catchers and a "Dreaming of a Cure" slogan on matching T-shirts.
After early entertainment Friday evening, the track encircling Dooley Field was lined with candle-lit memorials for the luminaria just after dark.
Seventy-five of those memorials belonged to the Farmer family, each representing a family member or close friend that had battled cancer.
"We lost (some family members) so soon after they got the news from the doctors, we just want to do something," Hempel said. "It happened so fast; we'd like to see people at least have more time after their diagnosis."