A couple of Jackson County Relay for Life teams have planned fundraisers in the coming days in advance of the main event on the evening of May 1 at Seymour High School.
The Miss Relay for Life Jackson County — a new event — will be Sunday in Seymour.
Doors open at 8 a.m. at Celebrations Reception and Event Hall, 357 Tanger Blvd., Suite 101, with pageants for baby girls to women who are 25 years old planned throughout the day.
Admission is $3 while registration for contestants is $30 at the door with all proceeds going to the Jackson County Relay for Life.
“We wanted to put together something where the community could get involved, we could raise money and also spread awareness,” said 22-year-old Angel Wente, who is co-organizing the event with Betsy Wayt.
Wente, a Seymour resident, said she’s been involved in Relay for Life since her freshman year of high school.
She’s also the co-captain of the Relay for Life team called Wayt’s Walkers, formed in memory of Betsy Wayt’s grandfather, Gerald Wayt of Cortland, who died of lung cancer in 2013.
Wente said since Sunday’s event is the first of its kind, she doesn’t have a set goal for how much money the team hopes to raise because they don’t know what to expect. So far, five people have signed up, but she said she’s hoping others will come out Sunday and compete.
“You can register at the doors, so we’re hoping that we’ll fill up,” Wente said.
Contestants will be judged based on age-appropriateness of attire, personality and overall appearance.
For the junior miss age group and older, participants will be required to come up with a statistic of the cancer that corresponds with the cancer that they are representing.
For example, Wente said childhood cancer is represented by the color gold, so the contestant would need to coordinate her outfit and research a short statistic.
“By doing the research on cancer, this would kind of help to educate the younger generations and get them involved,” she said.
A sash will be given to the winner and runner-up of each age group.
The ambassador queen, who raises the most money for American Cancer Society, will be crowned at 11 a.m.
“Everybody has been involved with cancer whether it’s been firsthand or secondhand by losing a relative or someone,” Wente said. “It hits home with a lot of people.”
A Children’s Antique Photography Fundraiser also will be conducted from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. March 28 at the Crothersville Senior Citizens Center.
Proceeds will go to the Relay for Life team in Memory of Pam Colwell, which will in turn, go to the Jackson County Relay for Life.
Tickets are $10, which includes a 15-minute photography session with Creative Images out of Ohio. An 8-by-10-inch photo, but additional photos can be purchased.
Brittany Gasser, the niece of Colwell, said her aunt was 52 when she passed away from cervical cancer in February 2014.
Colwell lived in Medora and worked at the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department for many years.
“We’re hoping to raise $1,000,” said Gasser who lives in Scott County.
She’s hoping the event will bring awareness to cervical cancer.
“You hear everything about breast and ovarian cancer, but it’s hard to find anything about cervical cancer,” she said.
Reservations are required to event, which is for newborn babies to girls 16 years old. One purchase can be made per household, and no child can be included in more than one session.
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2015 Relay For Life of Jackson County
6 p.m. to midnight
May 1
Seymour High School’s track
For information on how to get involved, call 812-528-0549 or email [email protected].
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Miss Relay for Life Jackson County
Doors open at 8 a.m. and the times of the pageants are:
- 9 a.m. Baby Miss, 0-18 months
- 9:30 a.m. Toddler Miss 19-35 months
- 10 a.m. Teeny Miss 3-4 years
- 10:30 a.m. Little Miss kindergarten-first grade
- 1 p.m. Sweetheart second-third grade
- 2 p.m. Junior Miss fourth-fifth grade
- 3 p.m. Teen Miss sixth-eighth grade
- 4 p.m. Miss 9th-12th grade
- 5 p.m. Mrs. 18-25 years
- 6 p.m. Survivors of any age recognized
Celebrations Reception and Event Hall, 357 Tanger Blvd. Ste 101, Seymour
For information, contact Angel Wente at 812-569-2564 or [email protected]. Like the event on Facebook at Jackson County Relay for Life Pageant.
Contestants do not have to be Jackson County residents. One adult admission will be for each paid contestant.
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Children’s Antique Photography Fundraiser
10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
March 28
Crothersville Senior Citizens building, 114 E. Main Street, Crothersville
Tickets are $10.
For information or to purchase a ticket or reserve a time slot, call 812-528-3613.
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