Charity Williams of First National Bank Polk County, as Accounting Chair and Webmaster for the 2009 Polk County Relay For Life, recently attended the Relay Leadership Conference in Gwinnett, along with her husband, Ryan.

This conference is hosted by the South Atlantic Division of the American Cancer Society and is attended by Relay For Life volunteers from all over Georgia.

Ryan and Charity attended breakout informational sessions pertaining to Relay For Life, and they accepted the annual award for Polk County.

The 2009 Polk County Relay For Life raised a total of $72,268.00. Calculated per the population of Polk County, the amount raised per capita was $1.74.

According to Kristi and Nancy Wright, Co-Chairs, “this amount is down for us, but considering the current economy, we were grateful for any donations we received this year. Cancer does not consider that we are in a recession, so we must keep fighting it.”

Plans are already underway for 2010, and an official “Kickoff” will be held soon. The final event will be held on Friday, May 7, 2010 at the Nathan Dean Sports Complex. Cancer Survivors will celebrate by leading off the Relay in the “First Lap.”

The Relay For Life, which is the American Cancer Society’s signature fundraiser, will be 25 years old in 2010. In light of that, the theme for the Polk County Relay For Life 2010 will be “Less Cancer Means More Birthdays.”

“Researchers who have made groundbreaking discoveries – such as mammograms, pap smears, the Human Papiloma Virus (HPV) immunization, medications and treatments – have been funded by Relay For Life monies. This is why we fight, year after year,” says Co-Chair Nancy Wright.

Anyone interested may call 770-684-0418 and leave a message, or go to our Facebook page @ Polk County Relay for Life. “Our Relay will be one big Birthday Party, because to a cancer Survivor, 'Happy Birthday' is a victory song.”