I attended a Relay for Life Mid-South Leadership Summit in Nashville, Tennessee on November 7 and 8.

The purpose of the event was to learn better ways of recruiting teams.

This informed more people about Cancer, and how they can do their part to fight against it.

The informational sessions   involved fundraising ideas, and tools to take back to their respective areas.

It was like a huge Relay for Life fundraising occasion to me (ours is held annually in June at the Grayson County High School).

Everyone at the Opryland Hotel was dressed in Relay t-shirt attire.

Teams came ready for the weekend to showcase how hard they worked during the 2008 fundraising season.

No matter where you went in the hotel you met someone who was there for the summit.

Each person had their own story to tell about how cancer has affected them.

I wanted to attend the event to show my support for the fight against cancer.

There have been several people in my family who have died from the disease.

Because of this I try to do my part in any shape or fashion to help with fundraising efforts.

In 2008 I became the Relay For Life Public Relations person for Grayson County.

The summit gave me the opportunity to look outside the box.

I discovered new ways to motivate people to help with this special cause.

For me it like a breath of fresh air.

I think we all get in the same rut at times, when it comes to asking people for money.

We hate to do it, because we all know that times are tough right now.

What surprised me the most when I arrived at the hotel though was how many teenagers were there.

I wish we could see that more in this area.

That would be so awesome to see several teenagers participating in the Relay for Life here.

Who does not love a party right?

To me that is what our annual event at the high school is, one big party.

You get a chance to catch up on lost times with friends you have not seen in a while.

The best part about it is that you are working together for a great cause.

It has been 25 years since the Relay first started.

Summit organizers decided to capitalize on that. Everyone was asked to dress in 80’s themed attire on Friday night.

The theme was ‘Celebrating 25 Years of Hope.’ People got a chance to travel back in time to when the Relay first started for the American Cancer Society.

There were screens everywhere in the conference room showing Relay events from all over the Mid-South region.

Some of the areas really go all out for their annual relay event. It almost reminded me of something like a Mardi Gras.

During the night several survivors were asked to come up front and be introduced.

Some of these people had battled with the disease for years, but have still overcome it. We were all surprised of the variety of ages of the survivors. You can be diagnosed with the disease at any age, it does not just hit the older generation.

I would recommend anyone to join a Relay for Life team.

It gives you a chance to meet new people, and work hard for a good cause.

Technology in medicine is always advancing. I hope and pray that I am still around to see the day when they find a cure for cancer.