Diane Wood, left, and Vicki Stewart, co-chairs for the 2010 Relay For Life cancer research fund-raiser, address the crowd during a kickoff reception in First United Methodist Church's Garrett Hall Tuesday evening. (HERALD photo/Steve Reagan)

By STEVE REAGAN     
Staff Writer
One of the largest per-capita fund-raising efforts in the nation is getting ready for another go-round.

The Howard/Glasscock Relay For Life, which raised more than $200,000 for cancer research this year, announced plans for its 2010 event during a kickoff reception Tuesday evening.

The 2010 Relay will be held May 14 and 15 at Blankenship Field.

The local Relay effort has established itself as one of the most successful efforts for communities this size in the nation, officials said.

“The community just embraces this event to the point that it just makes it work,” said Diane Wood, 2010 event co-chair. “The reason for that is that everyone has been effected by cancer in one way or another. Someone we know is diagnosed every day ... It's just all around us and I think that's the key to everyone getting involved.”

Joining Wood as co-chair is Vicki Stewart.

“It's easy to do good work when you have a great co-chair, a great committee and a great community to work with,” Stewart said. “I didn't even think twice when they asked me to be co-chair again.”

Although no official goal has been set, Stewart said the event committee is aiming to collect at least $185,000 in the coming year.

The 2009 Relay collected $221,338 or $6.86 for every man, woman and child in Howard and Glasscock counties. That per-capita figure was tops among communities of similar size in the American Cancer Society's High Plains Division, which stretches from Texas to Nebraska.

Stewart said another statistic showed how effective local fund-raising efforts have been — stacking the $221,338 raised locally against the division's per-event average, regardless of community size, of $66,500.

“I don't think there's any great secret to our success — it's this community,” said Jenny Sayles, co-chair of the 2009 event. “It's just awe-inspiring what everyone accomplishes. Without their continued support, we just couldn't do this.”

Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331 ext. 234 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it