Luminaria to highlight Relay for Life

OLD TOWN – One of the largest teams participating in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life this year is also one of the youngest.

So far, 26 members of Old Town High School’s Army Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program have entered the relay, which will start at 6 tonight at the Old Town High School track. That makes the JROTC team the second-largest group of the 55 teams signed up for the event, which is a fundraiser for cancer research and support.

The relay, in which team members and individuals walk laps around the track, will end at noon Saturday. There are plenty of activities, including a dance contest, karaoke, volleyball and movies for both spectators and participants during the relay, as well as theme hours in which walkers can put on formalwear, Hawaiian costumes or pajamas.

The highlight of the relay usually comes around 10 p.m., when luminaria are lit around the track in honor of those who have survived cancer and those who have died from the disease.

Lt. Col. Joe Sayers, an Old Town senior and the JROTC battalion commander, said numbers have increased over the years simply because word has spread among the JROTC classes.

“It’s great to be able to help people, and it’s a fun time,” Sayers said. “It’s fun because the people make it fun.”

Sayers and sophomore 1st Sgt. Lee Larry, who is the team captain, have been coordinating the event for the JROTC. Capt. Brandon Winchenbach, a junior, will be the battalion commander next year and has been watching his teammates to learn the ropes.

The JROTC group is one of several representing Old Town High clubs, but most of the other school teams are made up of fewer than 20 people. Each relay team will have at least one team member walking around the track each hour. The JROTC group, however, is so big that it probably will have two representatives each hour. Team Interface has 34 members, making it the biggest group.

So far, there are 563 entrants and around $38,000 has been raised, according to the Relay for Life Web site. Sayers said the team members have raised about $100 so far with a goal of $200.

The students are under the direction of retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Amedeo Lauria, who is the school’s JROTC coordinator. They use the experience as a service learning project.

In previous years, varsity track and field team member Winchenbach didn’t participate in the Relay for Life because it fell during the spring sports season. This year, however, Winchenbach will take part even he though he has to be on a bus for Presque Isle at 6 a.m. Saturday for a track and field conference championship meet.

The relay is a little more personal for Winchenbach this year because his grandmother recently was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“I decided to move around some of the sports things” on his schedule, he said.

For information, call the American Cancer Society at 800-ACS-2345 or visit www.relayforlife.org.

jbloch@bangordailynews.net

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