Hotels for Hope 2010

We had an amazing time this year at the Caledonian County Relay for Life event. This was the sixth anniversary for the fundraiser. I'm proud to say that our community has raised more than one million dollars in that period of time. Speaking of proud...my fellow team members of "Hotels for Hope" did an amazing job. They left the event having won one of only four awards that are issued annually. They earned and were awarded the "Team Spirit Award".

Everyone on our team took on different responsibilities. I was the lone chef cooking hundreds of hot dogs, hamburgers, and sausage. Some team members decorated our "fair themed" tents, others walked the track, some sold food and plush animals from our site, individuals volunteered to dress up and participate in the hourly themed walks, we had a team of runners at midnight that ran for an hour straight, etc. It was an amazing 24 hours for those that did it straight through. I was beyond exhausted the next morning as the sun came up. It was time to tear down and load up. I slept most of the day Sunday knowing that our team gave 110%. Everyone should be proud of their participation.

Speaking of proud, Gracie, my "just turned 6" year old didn't understand the concept of the midnight relay race. When the race began, she took off and didn't look back. For the the first lap or two, she ran by herself. By her third lap, she had befriended a young woman that was running individual laps. Around and around they went. Teams setup around the track started cheering them on. After nine laps, I finally stepped in and put an end to Grace's mini-marathon. Grace ran a total of 2.25 miles that evening. Prior to the midnight race, she had already walked countless laps. Needless to say, Grace slept well for several hours that night and most of the next day.

In the end we raised more than $5000 dollars as a team. Our goal for 2010 is to double that amount. A huge "THANK YOU" to all my team members and our amazing supporters!!!