By Shawn Skager-The Courier-Herald
Friday and Saturday, Sunset Chev
Stadium will resound with the message
of hope and perseverance as
the 2008 American Cancer Society
Sumner/Bonney Lake Relay for Life
comes to town.
The event, a 24-hour relay to raise
money to fight cancer, as well as celebrate
those who have battled cancer
and survived, was started in 1985
in Tacoma, when colorectal surgeon
Dr. Gordy Klatt walked for 24 hours
at the University of Puget Sound to
raise awareness and money for cancer
patients.
Tina Pries, activity director for this
year’s Sumner/Bonney Lake event,
has been participating in the event the
past eight years.
Pries, who works at Stafford Suites
in Sumner, heads the senior living
community’s team. This year the team,
named “The Flying Monkeys” in honor
of the event’s theme “There’s No Place
Like Hope” - a play on a line from the
Wizard of Oz - includes more than
70 people and has raised more than
$10,000.
“I’ve seen so many people whose
lives have been affected by cancer,”
Pries said. “I truly believe we can make
a difference.”
This year’s event gets starts at 6 p.m.
Friday with the opening ceremony and
the Survivor’s Lap, featuring those who
have battled cancer.
“To see people who have fought
through this is really moving,” Pries
said.
After the Survivor’s Lap, the event
kicks into full gear with theme laps
accompanied by entertainment and
music, that continue for 24 hours.
At 9 p.m. the event will feature the
luminaria ceremony, where the track
at Sunset Chev Stadium is lined with
bags illuminated by candles, each one-
honoring someone who is
fighting or who lost their
battle to cancer.
At 3 a.m. the stadium
will spring to life with the
sounds of “The Wizard of
Oz,” shown on an outdoor
inflatable theater.
The event will also feature
the music of Stay Tuned
and Andy Shofner, as well as
DJ Steve Clements. Other
prizes, raffles and games
will entertain participants
during the event.
For Pries, who lost her
father-in-law to cancer and
says the disease runs “heavily
in my family” the event
is a moving reminder that
most people are affected by
the disease, in one way or
another.
“You really have to see it,”
she said. “You really don’t
understand Relay for Life
until you’ve been there.”
For more information
about the Sumner/Bonney
Lake Relay for Life visit
their Web site at http://
TR/RelayForLife/RelayFor
LifeGreatWestDivision?fr_
id=6275&pg=entry.
Shawn Skager can be
reached at 360-802-8208 or
by e-mail at sskager@courierherald.
com.
