Relay is still short of goal

The annual Relay for Life was held last weekend and was deemed a success, despite falling short of reaching its fundraising goal. Organizers were still hopeful earlier this week that the goal might still be reached.

After ceremonies which began last Friday night and ran until noon Saturday at Woodruff Field, the relay is about three-fourths of the way toward reaching its goal of $40,000, according to event co-chairperson Ellen Wright (who served jointly with Kaye Royall in that capacity).

"We've received close to $30,000 so far," Wright said, "but we're still hopeful we're going to hit the goal. We still have money coming in....Some of the teams didn't get their fundraisers in and hopefully they'll get them in over the next month."

A total of 25 teams participated in the event, the premier fundraiser for the American Cancer Society — both in Alleghany County and across the country.

The ceremony began with a presentation of flags by the Bruce Wayne Osborne Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 7034, followed by a ribbon-cutting by the event's chairs.

After that, the survivor walk was held, during which cancer survivors walked one lap around the track.