SEBASTIAN — Dressed as Batman, Spiderman, Iron Man, the Incredibles, doctors, nurses and others, hundreds walked the track at Sebastian River High’s Sharks Stadium celebrating the culmination of months of fund-raising for the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life.
Leading the traditional Survivor Lap was the high school’s drum line as supporters lined the track to applaud the survivors as they passed by.
“Good job! Go! Go!” shouted one young girl from Sebastian Elementary School who watched the survivors in purple shirts walk.
“Everyone needs a cheering section like that,” said Fellsmere Police Chief Scott Melanson, who served as a campsite judge for Relay.
This year’s Relay For Life of North Indian River – Super Heroes: Part Two – was a do-over from last year’s celebration, which was washed out by Mother Nature.
For Team Dust Bunnies Cleaning and Home Care, the extra time meant the ability to amp up their campsite. Reaching out to Sebastian River High School’s newest athletic teams, Crew and Lady Sharks Rugby, Amy Cosner found the volunteers she desperately needed to make “Flush Out Cancer” a reality.
The rugby girls readily volunteered to perch on a toilet set in a walled hauling trailer as a makeshift dunk tank. Relayers pitched softballs at a target – if they connected with the target, water came pouring down on the rugby player. Those who hit the target also got a commemorative Relay For Life inspired bracelet.
Participating in the event year after year is personal for Cosner, not just because she, herself, is a breast cancer survivor – but because both her oldest and youngest sisters were also diagnosed with breast cancer – the youngest lost her battle.
Cosner said there was no family history of breast cancer and that each sister had a different form and were diagnosed at different stages.
“You can ask ‘why?’” Cosner said of questioning the unexpected cancer. “I chose not to ask ‘why?’ All you can do is just move forward.”
Down the track was Storm Grove Middle School, whose team was led by last year’s Teacher of the Year Concetta Hall, a breast cancer survivor.
“We have a lot of people in our teaching family” who have had or have been touched by cancer, Hall said.
The students in the National Junior Honor Society came up with the campsite’s hero – Ray the Recycler, a stingray made of recycled materials. They also made recycle bins to create a bean bag toss game.
Hall said the students at Storm Grove have been very supportive of the effort.
“Cancer’s becoming so widespread,” she said, adding that many students are aware.
Before Friday night’s event, which continues in Saturday, Relay For Life of North Indian River had raised $30,000, according to coordinator Theresa Woodson.
“I hope to match that with this event,” she said. “This community is incredibly generous.”
With numerous in-kind donations by area businesses, including Capt. Hiram’s which catered the Survivors Dinner for free, the event’s cost was much less – meaning even more money could be sent on to the American Cancer Society for cancer research and related endeavors.
Relay For Life continues its overnight celebrations with Relay For Life Indian River at Vero Beach High School April 26 and Relay For Life of the Beaches at Riverside Park, both beginning at 6 p.m.
