It was mission accomplished for a passionate bunch of Relay for Life of Morgan Hill event organizers, volunteers and participants at the end of an emotional 24-hour walkathon May 17 as close to $84,000 was raised for the American Cancer Society’s fight to find a cure.
In total, 34 teams, comprised of 329 individuals, walked the makeshift track at Community Park from 10 a.m. May 16 straight through to 10 a.m. May 17 in honor of survivors and in memory of those loved ones whose lives were cut short due to cancer.
Locally, the Relay raised $83,826.02 in 2015, according to the relayforlife.org/morganhillca web page. Donations are still being accepted through Aug. 30.
“We had a lot of new people out there,” said event organizer Valerie Renggli, whose efforts over the last two years have garnered close to $200,000 for cancer research. “I’m really excited about the new people who came out and I’m excited because we have some real go-getters who decided to join the leadership team so next year will be bigger and better.”
This year, there was no better team as far as bringing in funds than mainstay Dancers Against Cancer—which totaled $16,249.15 in donations. Two members of the Dancers Against Cancer team were among the top three individuals in money raised with Nancy Bernal topping the field with $3,749 and partner Diane Berney third with $2,250.
“They are fundraising dynamos,” said Renggli of the Dancers team. “They offered their expertise to other teams and said they are willing to do more of that this coming year.”
Dennis and Lavon Busch raised the second most with $3,195 in donations to lead their team Patty’s Pals to a third-place overall mark of $5,215 raised this year.
“Patty’s Pals is a second-year team. They were super strong last year,” said Renggli, whose Team Cure was second with $6,735 raised. “Their dedication to this Relay is truly amazing.”
The City of Morgan Hill showed its dedication to making the Relay a continued success with a participating team of employees and their families for the second straight year. They helped Relay organizers gain the proper permits for their “Paint the Town Purple” campaign in the downtown.
City councilmember Larry Carr cut the ribbon to open the Relay—but not before Oakwood School’s Christina Dobbek sang the national anthem—while Mayor Steve Tate as well as City Manager Steve Rymer and his wife walked for a couple of hours each.
“The City leaders supported Relay again this year, which was great,” said Renggli, also sharing that Chiquy Mejia, the Youth Development Coordinator for the City, provided entertainment as a dancing jester on stilts.
The 2015 keynote speaker was Tracey Eoff Soto, who is recovering from brain cancer after having a golf-sized tumor removed in August 2014. Her husband, Mark Soto, also spoke during the Luminaria lap, where the track is lit up in the evening, describing what it was like to support his wife during her battle.
“It was very moving,” said Renggli, who plans to be back in 2016.
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Top participants
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Nancy Bernal, $3,749
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Dennis and Lavon Busch, $3,195
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Diane Berney, $2,250
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Top teams
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Dancers Against Cancer, $16,249.15
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Team Cure, $6,635
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Patty’s Pals, $5,115
