[Dorothy Hardee]

The Relay For Life of The Villages of Hope kicked off at 6PM on Friday, April 29. The location was different, the crowd a bit smaller, but the heart among those participating, the passion & dedication of the teams on site, the dedication of the sponsors and the sincere good feelings shared was larger than ever before.

John McMahon, Elizabeth Clark & Dr. Adams generously offered their facility for the event and meetings leading up to Relay.

Nancy Reierson and the Ashland Lassies dedicated many hours in a short time to gather volunteers to put out more than 1200 luminaria that lined the track. They filled bags, registered survivors, helped set up areas, talk to guests and much more.

The Villages Cheerleaders lined the track to cheer our honored guests. The Goldwing Motorcycle group proudly lead the survivor lap followed by our local Boy Scout Pack 438 & leader Kenny Cox proudly displaying the flag.

Dr. Acevedo, Dr. Adams, Tim Hawkins, Dr. Harrison, Dr. Hussein & Dr. Rizzuto honored survivors with pins. Carol Browning shared her moving story of survivorship.

Spencer Glover donated his time and equipment, spending 18+ hours with us to keep music and entertainment going all night long.

Pastor Bill Winker led us in prayer. Ray emceed, Tony & Don shared their golden voices. The Villages Harmony Doo Wop group entertained; The Orange Blossom Square Dance Club danced the night away.

The Villages Charter High School SHOC group kept us entertained with their energy throughout the night. Thank you to our other outstanding teams that kept the energy going: TVHS; Largo Legs (our spirit award winner); Wisconsin Club; Dr. Acevedo's team New Hope; Advanced Urology's "Cures Do Come True"; Pat group - 4 Them; Friends For A Cure; ICCI; Lake Co. Oncology & Hematology; WOW of Wildwood; The Lone Ranger.

We spent time together watching the creativity of teams during the Newspaper / Duct tape fashion show. Who knew you could recreate the royal wedding party in newsprint; a cup cake girl or colorful bikinis out of such a product.

We turkey bowled; toasted a new year; shaved a balloon; ring tossed flamingo; played water balloon volleyball and passed toilet paper on a plunger. It was good ole fashion fun and a way to build relationships between strangers all working for the same cause;Finding a cure.

Thank you to all of the teams that kept the faith spending 18+ hours with us Friday & Saturday and throughout the passed few months as we geared up to the event. Thank you to the sponsors that remained supportive. Thank you to the volunteers that put in so much time making it all possible. Thank you to the Sumter County Transit for helping us find a solution to a hurdle. Your generous support of transportation was absolutely wonderful! Thank you to Central Florida Health Alliance & Oakwood for the wonderful survivor / caregiver dinner. Thank you to Classic Tents & Events for helping us with the tents, chairs & tables for the event. Thank you to Sarah, Alice, Susan, Dawn, Dominque, Justin, & Janet our big picture thinkers. They came from their own Relay events to help in order to support this Relay. If I have overlooked anyone, I apologize. Please know your efforts were sincerely appreciated. Without so many of you and your generous donation of time, resources and money, this event would not have been possible.

Yes, Relay For Life of The Villages of Hope will happen again. Yes, it will take place at the Advanced Urology Specialists 12109 CR 103 in April 2012. I hope you will join us in making this event event bigger and better than ever.

We are planning our wrap up party in the next 4-6 weeks and hope anyone participating will join us. It will be an opportunity to recruit committee members and jump start our 2012 season. We sincerely appreciate "Talk of The Villages" allowing me to use this forum to get information out to the residence.

Please feel free to view some of the pictures of the event at the link below.
http://www.facebook.com/dorothy.hardee?sk=photos

My sincere appreciation,
Dorothy Hardee
American Cancer Society Lake & Sumter Unit