ShawneeDispatch.com

Photo by Kevin Anderson

At the start of the Shawnee/Lenexa Relay for Life event, Jillian Sharp (left) was leading the way for the survivors lap. Jillian was diagnosed with a Wilms' tumor on her kidney in October 2007. The 4-year-old's last treatment was last week and she is cancer free now. The relay Friday raised more than $97,000 for cancer research programs.

Absolutely awesome.

Those were the first words that came to mind to describe the seventh-annual Shawnee/ Lenexa Relay For Life for organizing committee chair Lori Vielhauer. The most awe-inspiring outcome of the event, which ran from 6 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday at Swarner Park, was surely the community participation and the number that it led to: $94,578 raised for cancer research, nearly three times the total raised in last year's event.

The evening began with a large crowd gathering near the park's baseball field for the opening ceremony. With 37 teams, about 100 participants already had arrived, with more to come throughout the night.

"It's so good to finally see everyone getting together," Vielhauer told the crowd. ": This is an amazing gathering. I'm so impressed with the numbers."

Vielhauer told the crowd how the relay, a fundraising event organized in communities across the country, symbolized a cancer survivor's fight with the disease: the sunset of cancer diagnosis; the dark night of fighting the disease; the weariness that some participants might feel as they walked around the course laid out for the event like the weariness that can come with the often severe treatments necessary to rid one's body of cancerous cells. Then, the sunrise, when treatment is over and cancer is gone.

"They see the light at the end of the tunnel and they know they can go on," Vielhauer said. ": But remember, there is no finish line until we find a cure."

As the opening speaker, Staci Sharp, a teacher at Bluejacket-Flint Elementary School in Shawnee, shared her daughter Jillian's story since Jillian's diagnosis with a Wilms' tumor on her kidney in October 2007. The 4-year-old's last treatment was last week, Sharp said, and a CT scan showed no evidence of cancer.

"We are optimistic that Jillian will continue to live cancer free," Sharp said. "I pray that some day, no one will ever have to walk in the footsteps of our friends, family and neighbors here. But until then, we will walk."

The relay may have found strength in new participants, but those who have kept the fundraiser going through the years remained, like the Ruth Lynn Memorial Team from Monticello United Methodist Church in Shawnee.

Paul Elliott, team captain, explained the team was formed five years ago in honor of Lynn, a "vibrant" member of the church who survived colon cancer and lived to age 92. She had participated in the De Soto relay before her death, and she inspired her church to carry on the fight.

"Everybody on our team walks for someone different; everyone has been touched by cancer in some way," Elliott explained. "I don't believe there's anyone anywhere that hasn't been touched by cancer."

For the second year in a row, the team was able to raise more than $3,000 to earn a silver award. In fact, 17 teams earned a bronze award, raising at least $1,500.

The top five fundraising teams were the Flamin' Hotties with $14,923.87; the Party Poopers with $8,671.43; Applebees with $8,205.50; the Faith Walkers with $7,461; and The Wilm's Warriors with $7,123.58. Sharp from the Wilm's Warriors was the top individual fundraiser at $4,400.

Even the rains late Friday night couldn't keep the event from success, causing only an hour rain delay and allowing all of the planned early-morning activities, like salsa lessons and an American Idol competition, to take place as planned.

"(The rain) scared a few off, but there were a few teams that weathered the storm," Vielhauer said. "A lot of teams came back after the rain delay, and we had a great turnout for the closing ceremonies."

Vielhauer said she definitely felt the openness of the park, giving lots of space to spread out, contributed to the event's success.

"I just seemed to work better, the whole atmosphere," she said.

Of the more than 400 participants this year, Vielhauer said she heard many times that some had never before heard of the relay, and she hopes this year proves the participation is contagious.

"We've had two or three people already coming to us and saying, 'This is so wonderful I need to get together my own team next year,'" Vielhauer said. "It opened people's eyes, and they realized what the relay is all about."