Relay for Life 2019

Our annual Relay for Life took place last weekend and I'm 100% serious when I say that I'm still riding that high from our event! Apart from a Relay several years back (when McAlister's was there with the tea), this was seriously one of my top favorite Relay events for me!

A little back story in case you're wondering what in the world I'm talking about - I'm an oncology nurse, I work with patient's who are receiving radiation. I absolutely love what I do and love working with cancer patients. When I transitioned in this department about 12 years ago, my boss introduced me to the idea of Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society and asked me to join their team. After attending one relay event, I cried like a baby and was hooked!! I now sit on the event leadership team and at this year's relay, I was in charge of making sure the activities and games took place in a timely manner!

I also twisted my friend Kim's arm and encouraged her to join the committee with us to be my activities co-lead! We had SO much fun this year!

The Louisiana Ghostbuster's team picks one relay in the state of Louisiana each year to attend and fund raise for. They literally had the gear, the sirens, and the whole 9 yards! It was so cool to see and a huge hit with the kids!

My hospital team! :)

Our band this year was phenomenal. I visited another relay last year where I heard them play and loved them! I'm so glad we were able to snag Johnny Earthquake and the Moondogs this year!

About half an hour before this aired, I was told that I was going on the news. (Basically it was a game of "not it"! Thanks, guys!) Thankfully, it all went ok. Although I don't mind public speaking, live things still make me a bit nervous!

Right at 7 p.m., our event kicked off with opening ceremonies and the survivor lap!

A new addition this year was the confetti poppers for the survivor lap. This was yet another idea we saw while visiting a local relay this year and loved it!

As official "activities chair", that meant we also had the opportunity to taste test all of the yummy goodies for the sweet off!

Our theme this year was the "Colors of Cancer" where we encouraged each team to pick a diagnosis/cancer they've been affected by and go with that cancer's color. A lot of teams (our hospital team included) decided to go with a multi-color approach to support all of the different cancer diagnoses out there.

The above dessert was the winner! That sugar cookie was seriously the bomb.com. I don't even know if that's a phrase anymore, but I'm using it anyway. 

The cake/icing was delicious, too...and the spoons/forks they provided were also painted to match their theme! 

This team's theme was around the color teal because their mom passed away from cervical cancer. 

We had probably 15 desserts to taste. Poor things, right?

We also had a photo booth there with a personalized backdrop (from a green screen). We also each received a 4x6 printed photo and a digital version as well. Pretty snazzy!

I'm glad we stopped for a picture when we did because we were so busy, we never saw the photo booth again! 

At 9 p.m., all of the generators and lights were turned off and we took a few moments during the luminaria ceremony to honor our survivors and those who've lost their battle with cancer. My grandfather (pictured on the bags above) lost his battle with lung cancer my senior year in high school.

This is truly a reverent and personal time and one of my favorites of the night.

Another addition this year was the inclusion of fireworks after the luminaria ceremony. They were SO neat to see and the show was pretty great, too!

Brayden loved the fireworks!!

At the end of the night, we not only reached our goal, we actually exceeded our goal by $10,000!! As I mentioned,  this event was one of my favorites ever and I loved how everything/everyone came together to fight this terrible disease we call cancer!

Until next year... :)

Have you ever participated in a Relay for Life event? If so, what was your favorite part of the evening?

Dragon Boat Race

For the past five years, the hospital I work for has hosted an annual Dragon Boat Race to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network. Since I've never participated in these races in the past and open spots were available on our hospital team boat, I decided to jump right in!

 

After missing the weekday practice due to rain and not really knowing any of my teammates except one, I'll admit that I (right at first) regretted my decision to sign up for the race. I'm not one to jump right in to uncomfortable situations, especially when I have no clue what I'm doing. However, once our team was assembled that morning and the logistics were figured out, I felt much more comfortable!

My morning began bright and early with a six mile run around the downtown area with my friend Heather!

It was a super humid morning which served as a reminder that summer time is just around the corner. We timed the run just right because we finished about 10 minutes before I needed to meet up with my dragon boat team. Thankfully, I didn't even have to move my vehicle as our run took place at the same location as the boat race!

I was honestly surprised at the size of the event as it encompassed an entire section of our downtown/lake area and was literally an all day affair.

The team I joined was called the Life Savers, composed of EMT, cardiology, and oncology personnel. Funny pun on words, huh? :)

This was my first time to actually see the dragon boats in person and I was honestly surprised at their size!

Each boat fit 22 people - two rowers per seat, one drummer, and one person to steer.

I was really nervous as the unknown always gets me.  Also, our water isn't the cleanest (aka, it looks like mud), so I was worried we would flip over in that mess...ewwww. Gross.

Off we go!

Our first race was terrible, I'm not going to lie. We totally lost this race as we weren't in sync and couldn't get a rhythm down. This is where a practice would have come in handy.... oh well.

 

I even had a few cheerleaders out to cheer me on! :)

Our hospital picnic also coincided with the event, so we had yummy food to eat!

Our second race took place right after lunch. We were only up against one team this time (our local news station) and we won this one! Yay!

Funny side note...their team name was the "Technical Difficulties"...

Boat #1 for the win!

Our third and final race was another bust as we also lost that one but oh well - we still had fun and I really enjoyed the day.

Seriously, though. Rowing is no joke! My arms and upper body hurt so much by the time the day was over. I'm really surprised I wasn't sore the next day.

Team Life Savers! 

See how our drummer was dressed? That's another fun part of this event - the drummers had the chance to dress in fun costumes and were entered into a contest. I think my favorite drummer costume was the one who was dressed like a shark!

 A local industry team ended up winning the entire competition. These guys are hard core and have won the entire event the past five years. They even have their own boat, tryouts, and practice sessions. I knew we were in trouble when I turned around to see them all stretching and warming up in synchronized motions behind us! Oy.

In all, it was a really fun day and I'm glad I can say I participated in the event! Will I do it again in the future? Maybe! We will just have to see! :)

Have you ever gone out of your comfort zone to participate in an event? Did you end up liking it in the end?

Jamaica Me Crazy

This past weekend, our local American Cancer Society hosted a Jamaica Me Crazy event! We've had great success with this event in the past but changed it over to a formal gala about six years ago. This year, we decided to again switch back to a fun/less formal event and voila...Jamaica Me Crazy returned!

We had a great time planning and setting up for this event!

This backdrop took over an hour to put together. At the end of the night, someone leaned a heavy object against it and it all came crashing down. :( At least it was the end of the night and not the beginning!

Since fire was not allowed inside the building, a "fake" fire of tissue paper was made for the tiki torches! 

One of our fundraising items was this treasure chest with boxes filled with goodies! The contents ranged from area restaurant gift cards to drink tickets or a piece of costume jewelry! Each box also included a raffle ticket for a $100 restaurant gift card at the end of the evening!

 Silent auction

Love my friends! :)

The area that hosted our event even roasted a pig in the spirit of Jamaica...or something like that!

Yummy themed food!

The desserts were even better!

Someone might have gotten a little carried away...

Another fundraiser option included the candles of hope table - candles were lit in honor and/or memory of a loved one battling cancer.

My parents were there, too!

...and now, a message from our sponsors... :)

The Flamethrowers were our evening entertainment. They are a local band who plays all over the place - they were great as always!

The event ended around 10 p.m. and it was super easy cleanup on our part. Thankfully, we were finished by 10:30 ish and were on our way home! I had to wake up early for a run the next morning, of course!

In all, we had a great turnout and really enjoyed this event! Can't wait for next year! :)

Have you ever attended a fundraising event such as this one? Formal or casual events...what's your preference?

American Cancer Society Gala 2014

What a weekend! I am worn out but I wouldn’t trade a minute of it!

On Saturday night, I attended our American Cancer Society’s annual Gala – this year’s theme was Old Hollywood.

I absolutely loved our table centerpieces!

This was one type…

…and this was the other!

We also included a red carpet runway as guests arrived. Our photographer stood at the runway like paparazzi!

My friend Katie – she seriously rocks. Jason had to work and didn’t arrive until later in the evening, so I have no pictures of us together. Sad times.

Finger foods at the “before” party – it was delicious! Actually, ALL of the food was delicious!

A few event revenue enhancers at our event included a photo booth…

…complete with props…

….each person received a printed picture, and they were given the option to post the photo to facebook and/or email it to themselves! Loved it!

This is me with my best friend literally forever…Jane!

Another enhancer was the Candles of Hope table – guests could light a tea light in honor of a survivor or in memory of a loved one who lost their battle with cancer.

Not pictured here (because they all sold super fast) are boxes that were filled with area restaurant gift cards. Included with each box was a ticket which would give you a chance at college football season tickets to our local University!

Our silent auction was located in another corner, but I never got around to it for pictures.

My awesome survivor friend Erin and I were Emcee’s for the evening!

For starters, we accepted awards on behalf of the Academy. It was rather funny if I do say so myself! :D

We also helped our guests see the impact that ACS has made in our area – from not smoking in restaurants (at all) to wigs, transportation, patient assistance programs, etc…

Our guest speaker was a cancer survivor of 10 years – she was diagnosed in 2004 with stage for colo-rectal cancer and is still surviving today! What an amazing story!

To cap off the evening, a local band rocked the house – no really, the are incredible! They are called the Flamethrowers and are the area’s hottest and most sought after band at the moment. I loved them!

Oh yes, I almost forgot about the black and white movie that played on the overhead screen (silent of course)! Nice touch, huh? :)

What do you think of Gala’s? Have you ever attended one? Do you like to get dressed up for fancy events? (I love it!)