By Doug Anderson,
Director of Communications, VCSU

    This week, the space normally dedicated to VCSU President Dr. Ellen Chaffee has been provided by Doug Anderson, VCSU’s Director of Communications. Dr. Chaffee’s column will resume in an upcoming week.
    June is certainly an incredible month in Valley City. First, the Soap Box Derby, then Rally in the Valley. After the long, cold winter, Valley City just comes alive with opportunities to celebrate family and friendship. Well, get ready for one more!
    This weekend, June 22, the Barnes County Relay for Life will be held at Lokken Field on the VCSU campus. If you haven’t seen it, it is an amazing and sobering sight. White bags with a candle inside (called luminaries) are placed around the track at Lokken, each one bearing the name of someone who currently has cancer, or who has died from cancer, or has survived cancer. This is the fourth year the event has been held, and last year, the track was surrounded by over 4,000 luminaries. This year, organizers hope the event will attract closer to 5,000.
    The event begins with a ceremony that starts Friday at 7 p.m. Then, survivors of cancer take a lap around the track, and are then joined by other team members. Participants continue their trek around the track all night “relay-style” – each team keeping at least one member on the track at all times. It certainly is an emotional atmosphere, but one that builds close bonds among all those who participate.
    The scale of the event is one thing that conveys how broadly cancer affects us. This year, 31 teams are participating, each consisting of anywhere from 8 to 15 people, each representing anything from youth groups to businesses to families to just groups of friends. If nothing else, seeing this many people marching around the Lokken track circling thousands of luminaries glowing in the night, will certainly give you a unique appreciation for both the scale of cancer and the deep way it has affected the victims, the survivors and their loved ones.
    If you know someone who has been a victim of cancer (and realistically, just about all of us do, and many of us have seen the terrible toll it can take first hand), you may be interested in participating. One way is to purchase a luminary -- this is a great way to both commemorate the struggle and courage of a loved one who has been affected by this disease, while contributing to research that will go towards putting an end to this awful disease. Each luminary costs $5, and they will be on sale Thursday night at the state vehicle garage across Eighth Street from the VCSU Bubble. Another way to participate is to volunteer to help place the bags around the track Thursday night.
    If the turnout at the Barnes County Relay for Life isn’t impressive enough, consider this: local participants are joining 3.5 million people in 4,800 communities nationwide – all working in the fight against cancer. With that kind of enthusiasm, participants are sure to be making an important contribution.