Grayson County residents are not letting an ice storm, that struck the county in January, or the dow economy stop them from showing support for the 2009 Relay for Life.

As of June 15, all 53 teams in the county have raised a total of over $85,000 for the fight against the deadly disease.

The 2009 event will begin on June 19 at 5 p.m. at the Grayson County High School track.

Guest speaker for the night will be two-time cancer survivor Gloria Burnett.

The survivor ceremony will be begin at 7 p.m. Survivors need to register at the survivor tent from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Opening ceremonies will begin at 7 p.m. Team members and other attendees will be asked to the grandstands at this time.

Following the opening ceremonies will be the luminaries’ presentation at 10 p.m.

Relay Chairperson Elizabeth Mattingly explained their numbers across the board are up from last year.

Bank night, which was a collection of funds raised this far, showed an increase in fundraising efforts by over $2,000.

According to Mattingly, team participation is also up for last year.

“We were surprised at how much the community has supported the relay,” she explained. “Despite the ice storm that hit this year and the economy being the way that it is. People have really shown their support for this cause.”

Luminaries can be purchased for $10 this week or can be bought on site during the night of the relay. Contact Le Ann Escue for more details by phone at 270-287-1188.

Relay t-shirts are for sale for $10 each at Something Beautiful in Leitchfield. All adult sizes are still available.