Relay For Life South Atlantic Division Leadership Summit 2011

Yes, the summit I just got back from has 9 words in it's name. And, it deserves everyone of those words.

The weekend blew my expectations out of the water or the world.

I headed down Friday morning and enjoyed every moment of the scenic, beautiful drive.

I arrived at the convention center/hotel combo to the revolving doors covered in Relay For Life signage. And, the welcome just got better. There were cheerleaders. I kid you not. Let's go Relay!

Goodie bags, shirts to represent our state delegations, a huge Relay Store...and, drumroll...being surrounded by 1,000 Relay For Life leaders, volunteers, and staff. I quickly realized that I had entered a new world...a purple world filled with hope of life.

I felt so empowered, appreciated, and welcomed.

Everyone was there for one reason: to save more lives.

I felt like we were set up for success. We received binders with already printed materials for all the general sessions and breakouts. So, it was easy to catch the notes of the CMO of the American Cancer Society (who spoke in layman terms, yes please).

To be honest, I think they took a cue from the education world. All the breakout sessions were totally 21st century skills and technology was utilized infinitely. (They even had a scanning smartphone symbol throughout the building for updates).

We celebrated the past year's successes of Relay For Life, but looked ahead to the future of moving from saving 350 lives a day to 1,000 lives a day by increasing education, prevention, research, services, and advocacy of cancer through the American Cancer Society.

Speaking of last year, Relay For Life of Culpeper's grand total was $207,003.00 with a per capita of $4.45. Absolutely amazing.

At the Virginia's 'Best in Show' state awards (there's about 6ish), Culpeper won 2! I was totally stunned and may or may not have tripped on my way up to get one of them.

One of my favorite parts of the weekend happened when they through us a Relay! What an awesome idea? Because, the last time that I truly was a participant and didn't have leadership responsibilities was over 5 years ago. It was awesome to be a participant and reminded me of the experience of Relay For Life. It's not just an event.


















At the Relay, we went to different states' campsites (my favorite was cup pong where we through ping pong balls at bras with different cup sizes), there was a luminaria ceremony, and we danced the night away to a DJ. Just like Relay. How many of you can say you've done the Cupid Shuffle with 500 other friends?

Also, I really appreciated that 3 people over was Jeff Ross, Relay For Life Hall of Famer and Key Speaker, doing the Cupid Shuffle while the CEO of the South Atlantic Division and CMO of the American Cancer Society watched on.

At this moment, I was reminded that this is another reason about why I love Relay? Where else can anyone and everybody join together for the mission of eradicating cancer? And, have fun while doing it? Relay For Life is a unifier.

After 4 hours of sleep, the fun, learning, sharing, cheering, moving moments and passion kept flowing.

Quick Facts:

• 12 million cancer survivors
• 350 more lives are being saved a day as compared to 10 years ago.
• 100 years ago, the diagnosis of cancer led to a ~90% death rate.
• Western Virginia (Culpeper is part of this) continues to lead the South Atlantic in money raised. $6.5 million.
• The South Atlantic Division is #1 in the WORLD. $65 million in fundraising for more research, services, education, and prevention.
• 30% reduction in breast cancer death rate.
• American Cancer Society leads the nation in fiscal responsibility.
• 5,160 Relay For Life events in 2011
• I think Linda (who watched online live streaming) and I texted over a 100 times exchanging ideas for Cpep. Ok, maybe 200. 

We have come sooooo far since 1915 when the American Cancer Society was formed. We now know that 60% of cancers are preventable through prevention (eating right, exercising, and avoiding alcohol) and early detection. The mission is very urgent. We need more knowledge to understand what is broken so that we can fix it. And, that's where the importance of Relay For Life comes in. 

Moral of the Story: We save lives. Let's save more.