Date auctions, musical chairs and loud music make for a fun party and that is exactly what Relay For Life turned out to be this year.
Held on April Fool’s Day, this year’s relay was no joke, raising almost $30,000 and turning into a party Friday night.
Relay was run by an executive committee, comprised of ETSU students, and also a staff coordinator from the American Cancer Society. This year, ETSU had a new staff coordinator, Anna Catherine Davenport, who came to ETSU with high expectations and enthusiasm for a successful Relay.
“Our American Cancer Society staff person, Anna Catherine Davenport was amazing,” said Executive Chairperson Stephanie Sprouse. “She was there for us every step of the way and always willing to help us.”
Davenport made a goal to beat last year’s amount raised – a goal that she knew could be reached with hard work and extreme effort on everyone’s part. “This Relay surpassed my expectations,” said Davenport. “I knew that we would exceed our goal of $20,000, but I honestly didn’t think we would reach almost $30,000.”
Around 11 p.m. Friday, the announcement was made that this year’s Relay For Life had already raised $23,000 and more was still coming from the various activities. “My boss said that I had a really perplexed look on my face,” said Davenport. “Every time I added up the numbers, it said we were already at $23,000!”
This news brought cheers to the Mini-Dome and made the night even more festive. “I was just amazed that we had passed up the goal so soon because I wasn’t expecting it,” said Davenport. “But it was just so exciting and relieving because that made the rest of the night what Relay is supposed to be – a celebration.”
Throughout the night, Relay committee members ran activities in order to keep everyone’s blood flowing and to make it more entertaining. These included a date auction that raised over $300, the “dude looks like a lady” contest, and a musical chairs/scavenger hunt race.
Everyone was exceptionally excited this year, but none more than the guys who got the chance to dress like a lady and prance around.
All the teams had a fundraising campaign to not only raise more money during the night, but also to receive team spirit points.
Sigma Alpha Epsilon sold ACS Relay for Life bracelets, gave shopping cart rides for $1, and also had a huge TV to play video games. Some teams also sold candy, water and other trinkets. The teams were enthusiastic about participating in all events and raising as much money as they could.
“The teams and my committee were incredible,” said Davenport. “They are the reason why we had such a phenomenal event!”
The top three teams raising the most money were the ETSU Survivors who collected $4,772, the Honors Scholars with $2,435.03, and ETSU Cohort with $1,705.
This year’s relay surpassed last years in success because of more publicity on the executive committees part. They sent out letters to organizations early in the semester.
Around 450 people showed up Friday night, not all at once, but wandering in and out. “This was the best relay ETSU has had thus far,” said Sprouse.
Besides all the fun that was happening, there were serious times.
The luminaria ceremony brought tears to many as they reflected on those who had either passed away from cancer or those who had successfully battled the disease.
In the end though all the effort and emotions experienced throughout the night were worth it. The final tally for the event was over $29,000.
“I was still reeling from the excitement (not to mention exhaustion),” said Davenport. “Making your goal and then going further than you anticipated is one of the best feelings in the world!

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