The 2013 Relay is over..... Or is it?????

I think I can safely say I am recovered from the 10th Annual San Juan Capistrano Relay for Life.  Took a couple days, but I am back in the swing of things.  Thankfully the weather turned out to not be as hot as expected, so that helped.  Also, I need to send a big thanks out to Ken Friess.  For the first time in 10 years, I did not have to keep the luminarias lit.  When I walked in the first event in 2004, I noticed that some of the luminarias were going out.  I thought how disappointing it would be to someone coming to walk at 3 in the morning if their luminaria dedicated to a friend or family member was not lit.  That became my mission every year since.  From midnight to 4 am, I kept the luminarias lit and my mom took over the job at 4.  This year, we were short on volunteers, so the committee members all had to do a little extra.  After working from 8:30 am to midnight, with no time for the short nap that I usually take before walking, I was not looking forward to keeping the luminarias lit this year.  But Ken told me that he promised a donation to the Keystone Leadership Group of the Boys and Girls Club if they would keep the luminarias lit throughout the night.  My first two laps, I noticed a particular luminaria was out, so on my third lap, I took a box of candles and lit it.  I walked two more laps and did not see another one that needed to be lit, so I set the box down.  I swear, I never saw a single luminaria being lit, but they were kept up all night long.  Thank you Ken and thank you Keystone Club!  After crashing in my tent for a couple hours, it was back up to enjoy some nice soothing live music and a great breakfast from Ricardo’s.  Then came the raffle.  It was disappointing that we did not sell more tickets, but it worked out great for me as I won several prizes.  For one of them, there were two winners and only one ticket, so I dropped in a ticket and won.  My niece was excited as I gave it to her.  The best thing I won?  A beautiful, colorful afghan handmade by 92-year-old Ceil McKinney that took her over 6 months to create.  It is so heavy and warm that I wish I had won it prior to my nap as it got a bit cold in the tent!!!

The Relay itself may be over for the year, but we are not yet done fundraising yet.  As of the day of the Relay, we were at about $70,000.  Everything collected until August 31st will count towards this year’s Relay so if you wanted to donate, but forgot, you are not too late!  You can visit our website at www.RelayForLife.org/SanJuanCapistranoCA for donation information.  (And if you prefer to donate to a particular person rather than the event in general, I will volunteer to be your person!)  Want to get a jump start on your holiday shopping?  We have 10th Anniversary Commemorative Cookbooks for sale for only $20.  As soon as I get all the details as to where they will be available in San Juan, I will pass them on.  For the time being, you can e-mail us at the above address and someone will get back to you.

For those of you reading this blog who participated in the event, thank you very much.  We had the largest camp out ever and the most people walking between midnight and 4 am that I have ever seen.  The luminaria ceremony was also packed as well.  Next up, we are going to have a wrap up meeting to discuss what went well this year and what we can improve on.  Were you there?  Have any comments to share with us?  Send the comments to SJCRFL13@yahoo.com.  If you enjoyed what you saw and would like to help next year, please send us an e-mail at the above address and we will be glad to contact you as we start prepping for next year.  Whether you would prefer to sit at a desk and check people in, sell raffle tickets, or help decorate luminarias, we could use your help.  Rather do something more physical?  We could use help with set-up and break down.  We also have all sorts of opportunities to assist in the Kids Camp.  So please, while it is fresh in your memory, please send us an e-mail so that we can contact you next year.

To all my committee members, especially Mike Johnson who stepped up to chair this year’s event, it was my pleasure to work with you and I hope to see you again for our 2014 Relay.