The organizers of Gimli’s first Relay for Life raised $107,000 last Friday night for the Canadian Cancer Society. That was more than double the $50,000 target set last winter when a 16-member Gimli committee began planning the 12-hour walkathon on a track in Gimli Park.

“We are ecstatic,” co-chair Rob Munro said at the conclusion of the event at 7 a.m. Saturday. “The relay brought together the whole community. Everybody was motivated because cancer has touched the lives of most families.”

Forty teams with a combined total of more than 400 walkers circuited the track all night before polishing off 50 lbs of pancakes cooked by Gimli Kiwanis Club members.

Besides the fundraising efforts of the walkers, the organizers also sold 650 luminaries, glowing candles in bags that were placed around the track at dusk to honour cancer victims and survivors.
“Originally, we budgeted for the sale of 500 luminaries at $5 each,” Munro said. “We exceeded all our goals. We thought we would get 35 teams instead of 40, and 50 survivors rather than the 63 who were present for the ceremonial first lap.”
Munro said that while the cancer society’s relays are not competitions, the maiden Gimli event surpassed the totals from similar relays in three other Manitoba communities. He also said the pledges from Gimli’s 5,000 citizens compared favourably with Winnipeg where the recent 2006 relay raised $225,000 in a city of 700,000.

Thee Gimli relay opened at 7 p.m. with team warm-up exercises led by Jan Cherlet and words of welcome from master-of-ceremonies Joe Olafson, of Winnipeg’s CTV News. Before their exertions, the walkers also listened to brief speeches by Munro, cancer society director Doreen Fey, Gimli MLA Peter Bjornson, Gimli deputy mayor Lynn Greenberg and Eva Haddad, chairperson of the walk’s survivor committee.
Haddad said the large turnout indicated “life really is good” when so many people in a relatively small town gather for an event like the relay.

“Unfortunately, there are still many people fighting cancer and some who will not make it,” she said. “This relay and the luminaries are for them. We have to have faith and hope that cancer will some day be a thing of the past, and we will remember why we walked in this Relay for Life.”
There was a touching moment when Haddad, a 32-year cancer survivor, started the survivors’ victory lap with Abby Hill, a five-year survivor who is only eight years old. They were preceded by Gimli piper Jack Reay and red-coated RCMP constables Dieter Ludlow and Scott Berestiuk.
Munro said the walkers enjoyed themselves, partly because a gloomy day turned sunny and warm just before the event commenced.
“The wind only came up in the last couple of hours,” said the co-chair who also praised the RM of Gimli for cutting the park grass short.
Continuous entertainment also made the night pass quickly for the participants. Appearing on the park stage were A Cappela, Bill Laing, the Barvinok Dance Club, Double Carrick, Adam “Elvis” Tarnowski, Laurie Lamb, Madison Benson, Mondane, Mudlarks, Off the Heel, Rori Peiluck and the Johnsons.

Munro said numerous sponsors and 75 volunteers also played a major role in the success of the relay.
“The work of everybody was fantastic,” he said. “There is no doubt the relay will be an annual event.:
Besides Munro and Don Condie as event co-chairs, the organizing committee members were Sylvia Smith, Sandra Cronin, Larry Markusson, Shelly Narfason, Janice Arnason, Ruth Arnason, Rosanna Cuthbert, Tannis Erickson, Donna McKenzie, Ila Condie, Eva Haddad, Ron Haddad, Thor Stevens and Bob Munro.

The cancer survivors, who led off the walk in bright yellow T-shirts, included Bill Aitken, Spence Allison, Dick Arnason, Janice Arnason, David Artyshko, Kim Bahniuk, George Barrow, Suzanne Barrow, Lanette Bowman, Marguerite Bright, Jessie Cain, Yvonne Cantin, Marcel Cherlet, Elsie Cherniak, Jean Colley, Barbara Couture, Janice Dankochik, Eunice Doucette, Marion Dueck, Judy Eastman, Doreen Froese, Rhonda Genik, Karen Gottfried, Bernice Greenberg, Eva Haddad, Abigail Hill, Don Holm, Norma Horban, Don Hrehoruk, June Isfeld, Rosa Johnston, Kari Knox, Vicky Kozminski, Ken Krebs, Heather Lair, Elsie Litwin, Red Magnusson, Benna Martin, Rosemarie Maveal, George Medwid, Eleanor Melsted, Brian Moule, Mary Munro, Ruth Musack, Dilla Narfason, Tanis Narfason, Phyllis Olson, Lil Page, Sheila Panteluk, Sandra Pruden, Clairice Rebillard, Lorraine Sigurdson, Joan Siran, Ron Skaritko, Don Tole, Roberta Topping, Ty Vandriel, Jeannette Vouriot and Phyllis Zaborosky.

Roger newman