CULLMAN – Volunteers for the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life of Cullman County will gather at 5:30 p.m., on Thursday, Jan. 17, at First Baptist Church of Cullman Fellowship Hall to kick off plans for its annual event set for Friday, May 3 at Cullman County Fairgrounds.
The 2019 event will celebrate that state’s 200th birthday with a theme of “Bring Home a Cure: Celebrating Alabama’s Bicentennial.” Participating teams are encouraged to choose a theme based on the people, places or things that represent the state of Alabama. The event has been endorsed and sponsored by the Cullman County Bicentennial Committee and is an official event of the Alabama 200 Bicentennial Celebration.
“This will be Cullman County’s 26th annual event to raise funds for the American Cancer Society,” said Helen Allen, the event lead for the Cullman event. “All of us who volunteer on the committee and with teams share the same goal of helping raise funds that will be used for research, to assist patients and their families, and to educate on the importance of early detection and preventative measures. We’ve all been affected be cancer in some way and want to be a part of helping to find a cure. Every advance made from research comes home to us in order to help all of our families and friends affected by cancer.
“We welcome anyone interested in learning more about participating in Relay to attend the kickoff,” Allen added. “Local businesses, industries, churches, organizations and families are all welcome to form a team and help in the fight against cancer.”
Lanell Coln of Corinth, Mississippi will be the featured speaker at the kickoff. A five-year survivor of pancreatic cancer, Coln has been a Relay For Life volunteer for many years and an event lead for the Alcorn County event for five years.
Teams and sponsors from the 2018 event will be recognized and teams will be able to choose their tent site for the 2019 event and get information on Relay-wide fundraisers and more. Upcoming meetings will also be held on Feb. 7, March 7, April 4, April 18 and May 2.
For more information or to register or join a team, visit www.relayforlife.org/cullmanal or contact Helen Allen at 256-709-4019 or helen@weltimail.com. Visit the event’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/RFLCullmanAL.
