Bath County Relay for Life Takes Place Saturday, August 20th

Warm Springs, VA – The 2011 Bath County Relay for Life will be held Saturday, August 20th, from 11 am to 11 pm at Bath County High School. If you have driven through downtown Hot Springs this past week, you might have noticed some beautiful purple ribbons on store fronts and light poles. Pat Foutz of Bath Community Hospital discusses the newest activity adopted by the Bath County Relay for Life team, which they call “Painting the Town Purple:”

“These purple ribbons were actually being made for us through Mountain Laurel Florists there in Mitchelltow” says Foutz, “and you can purchase a purple ribbon and it can be in honor or memory of someone and you just put it wherever you would like to put it for the public to see.”

A Survivors’ Dinner was held on August 13th for all individuals battling cancer and a guest. Foutz comments that the seeing the cancer survivors at the dinner and other Relay events is the motivation for the Relay team to carry on their work year after year.

“We really want to see these people” she says. ” It is because of the survivors that we always do what we do and just seeing our survivors who are coming in and fighting this disease and coming back each year gives all of us volunteers the reason to do what we do and the passion that we have for Relay for Life and finding this cure for cancer.”

Foutz talks about the events scheduled for the Relay on the 20th.

“So we’ll open up with a ceremony that kind of honors our survivors and then at 11:30 we will have the survivors’ lap and then by 12 o’clock we’ll be ready to go in full relay mode” she says. “Have lots of interesting events going on. One of the new events that we have this year is our toddler lap and that’s going to happen at 1:45 and this is just where you can bring your toddler and have them walk the lap around the ball field and they can be dressed up and I think there will be little prizes for the young toddlers to come and do that.”

Later in the evening, the group plans a new activity – a “Minute to Win It” contest, a take-off of a popular TV show, in hopes that having something new will result in more attendance. They will also be bringing back a favorite from last year, the “Frozen T-shirt Contest.”

“It’s a real fun contest” says Foutz. “I think we’ve decided that we’re going do it a little bit differently, it won’t be quite as hard to get those t-shirts unknotted, but please come and support us and we’ll have that sometime during the day also.”

Foutz also says that the Bath Relay for Life team is always looking for new members and to let people know that the group is open to others interested in the fight against cancer.

“We really would like to see new members come in because as new members come in they bring new and exciting ideas to an organization” she says. “It is so refreshing to know that when I see a new face come on and I see their passion and their energy, it warms my heart to know that this committee and this passion’s gonna go on.”

A reminder that this year’s events will be this coming Saturday from 11am to 11pm at Bath County High School. If you are interested in becoming a member of the Bath County Relay for Life organization, or if you want information about this Saturday’s Relay events, please contact Trudy Woodzell at 540-969-7194.