Butler Relay for Life starts with a whirl
CONNOQUENESSING TWP — A Saturday morning wind storm sent the Butler Relay for Life crew running across a field in pursuit of their tents.
The team of volunteers couldn't stop laughing about it all day. After all, the group picked “There's no place like hope,” — a riff on a “Wizard of Oz” quote — as this year's theme. Organizers felt they had summoned their own tornado.
“We're definitely not in Kansas anymore,” laughed Butler resident Megan Ratica, the event coordinator.
Early morning storminess gave way to a hot day as Butler's 35th relay filled part of the Butler Farm Show fairgrounds. Poor weather dampened crowd expectations, but participants stayed strong for a day of fighting cancer.
Take it from Aimee Fritz of Butler, whose family joined the relay for the first time this year. Fritz and friends attended to support her as she battles ovarian cancer.
“It's nice just to hang out for a day and stop thinking about everything,” Fritz said. “It's great bonding.”
The event's regular crowd comes for the same feeling. The goal, Ratica explained, is to make a community for people like Fritz who might need backup in the battle at hand.
“This is showing our community that we can come together to fight something that discriminates against nobody,” Ratica said.
While the event raises money for various American Cancer Society programs that support people with different types of cancer, Ratica explained the relay isn't so much about raising money as it is celebrating survivor stories and the lives of cancer victims.
Butler's relay usually raises about $100,000. The heat kept crowds down this year, so organizers were instead expecting to raise $70,000. They also conduct various other fundraisers throughout the year, such as a daffodil sale in which Fritz participated.
This year's event had 140 registered participants, who were free to come and go throughout the day to walk, and were encouraged to do so this year given the heat advisory.
The highlight of each relay is the luminaria ceremony at its close. Denise Schandelmeier of West Sunbury, a cancer survivor, said it's her favorite part.“It's humbling to look up at all the luminaria floating and to know there is a story behind every one,” she said.Schandelmeier has attended the relay since 2014, a few years after her own diagnosis. Her daughter was involved for years and convinced her to come.The relay group provided Schandelmeier with a support system and family, she said.“It's empowering,” Schandelmeier said. “It feels like you're taking back a lot of the power and control cancer stripped away from you.”Jeff Keller of Grove City attends each year not as a cancer patient or survivor, but as a supporter for those he loves. His wife developed breast cancer two-and-a-half years ago, and they found a source of hope in the event.“It's motivating,” Keller said. “You hear all these stories from people who were basically given a death sentence, and they're still here years later.”Next year, Ratica said the event is going for a taco theme, rather than anything tornado related. She'll still be involved, but is handing the reins to Jason and Becky Goehring of Saxonburg.The Goehrings got involved three years ago. Jason Goehring described their own transformation from helpers to leaders.“I'm not saying you have to do this,” he said. “But everybody should have something like this in their lives.”Rest assured, Ratica and the Goehrings share a common goal for Butler's relay: end it.“Our ultimate goal is to not have to do this anymore,” Ratica said. “Let's put some doctors out of work.”
