With more than $130,000 raised prior to the actual 24-hour Relay For Life this past weekend at John Thurman Field in Modesto, the 2023 event far surpassed its $150,000 fundraising goal.
By the time the closing ceremony was staged on Sunday, Oct. 1, teams involved in the American Cancer Society’s signature fundraiser had gone over $161,000, with more donations still anticipated. At press time, the total had surpassed $166,000. Top fundraising team was Conagra Oakdale Fights Back, with the Oakdale team bringing in more than $25,000. Conagra also served as the presenting sponsor for 2023.
The combined Relay, which brought together Modesto, Oakdale and Turlock Relays, also draws in participants from some San Joaquin County communities and is classified as the Relay For Life of Greater Stanislaus County. This year was the third year for the larger, combined event.
All the activities were at John Thurman Field, home of the Modesto Nuts, and began with a breakfast on Saturday morning, Sept. 30 followed by the official Opening Ceremony at 9 a.m.
The Escalon American Legion Post 263 color guard was on hand to present the colors to open the ceremony. Guest speaker Tonia Reyes offered some statistics and noted the many family members and friends she has seen battle the disease. Among them, her daughter Faith, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor in elementary school. Faith and her twin sister Destiny did not attend the Relay; as Tonia explained, they were both at a cross country training camp for Escalon High School, where they are seniors this year. She read a letter she wrote to Faith, sharing the ups and downs of their journey through cancer, what they learned as a family and how going through cancer changes everyone.
“We also celebrate our survivors and acknowledge their strength and courage, shared in the fight against cancer,” Reyes said.
Also stepping to the stage during the ceremony was Oakdale Mayor Cher Bairos, who thanked the participants for their commitment to the cause. She also presented a special certificate of recognition from the City of Oakdale to Conagra, which was accepted by Team Captain Letty McKenzie.
Patrick Shields, a two-time cancer survivor, presented a certificate of appreciation on behalf of the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors, recognizing those taking part. Shields represented District 4 Supervisor Mani Grewal at the event.
Several dozen teams, featuring hundreds of participants, were on hand for the 24-hour event and participated in theme laps, were treated to several bands performing, had the chance to compete in a number of fun contests, and enjoyed viewing classic cars brought in to the concourse for the day, displayed by local car clubs.
Theme for this year’s Relay was Strike Out Cancer, and the midnight movie shown was The Sandlot.
There was the festive Ms. Relay contest, a Road to Recovery race with cardboard cars, Bingo games, special gifts and activities for survivors, as well as an overnight poker lap, a Scrabble lap, a newspaper fashion show at 5 a.m., and karaoke at 6 a.m.
The closing ceremony at 9 a.m. Sunday featured recognition and trophy presentations for the overall top fundraising team, Conagra of Oakdale; the team participation award went to Meet The Flockers and the team spirit award to Breathless No More.
