In the past, Bonney Lake joined forces with Sumner to pull together an annual Relay for Life event. This year, however, relay organizers realized that Bonney Lake is large enough, and passionate enough, to hold its own Relay for Life.

Event chairperson, Nicole Remington, presented Mayor Neil Johnson with a purple sign in early May. The sign identifies Bonney Lake as an official Relay for Life community. She said she hopes it will be placed along state Route 410, where it will maintain high visibility.

The sign was given to Johnson as a way to celebrate and say thank you for proclaiming May 31 Paint the Town Purple day. Different relay teams will stand at intersections throughout the city and ask for donations.

“Making Cancer History” is the tagline chosen by event coordinators for this year’s relay. Remington said that the phrase takes on several meaningful definitions. First, and most importantly she said, is to obliterate cancer and make it a distant memory from the history books. The second is to mark the culminating year of Bonney Lake’s independence in Relay for Life. Coincidentally, today marks the 100 year anniversary of Relay for Life, which makes 2013 a truly historical year, said Remington.

Bonney Lake Relay for Life currently has 25 relay teams but Remington is hoping to reach their goal of 30 teams before the main event. Remington is team captain of Rainier Dental Smile, a platinum sponsor team.

There are several ways to get involved with Relay for Life. The annual luminary ceremony is a way to remember those who lost their fight to cancer. If you would like to donate a luminary in honor of a loved one, please visit the Bonney Lake Relay for Life website. Relay organizers are specifically asking for canned food donations, which will be used to weigh down the luminaries in place of sand and then donated to the food bank afterwards. You can also have your loved ones represented at the luminary by sending in a photo for the slideshow.

Remington announced that she is currently searching for cancer survivors to come out for an honorary kick-off ceremony. It’s helpful to register ahead of time, but not required.

“The survivors are what this is all about. We want to create a world with more survivors,” she said.

The main relay event will be held June 28 at Bonney Lake High School. For more information and to find out how you can get involved, please visit the website or contact Nicole Remington at relaynicole@comcast.net.