Despite horrible weather in the region, the Relay For Life of Lawrence Township, Indiana was a success. Not only did they achieve all of the mission delivery goals they had set for the event, but when they surpassed them they were ready to take on more.

Their success in mission and advocacy was due to the hard work of Angie Steeno, this year’s Mission and Advocacy Chair. Since Angie is a cancer survivor, the words ’fight back’ resonated with her, and her passion was obvious and infectious.

She explained how each committee member, team captain, and participant could ’fight back’ through advocacy by becoming an ACS CAN member and discussed what ACS CAN was. She also described how through Picture A Cure, participants could share their story with their legislators, emphasizing the importance of the fight against cancer. Finally, she instructed everyone to make Tell A Friend calls encouraging women not only to get a mammogram, but to reach out and see if someone they knew might qualify for assistance to receive a free mammogram.

Then Angie asked teams to take the Fight Back Challenge. Each team needed to turn in 10 Picture A Cure forms, 10 Tell A Friend forms, and sign up 10 ACS CAN members. If a team met all of these criteria then they would become Fight Back Champions.

Fight Back Champions would receive t-shirts for each team member, a yard sign stating they were "Fight Back Champs 2008," and they would also be recognized during the Fight Back Ceremony.

Out of a total of 22 teams, four teams became Fight Back Champions and 79 participants pledged to fight back at the Relay. In addition, they gained 43 new ACS CAN members, had 48 Picture A Cure forms turned in, and 51 Tell A Friend callers.

To add a little more excitement to the Fight Back Ceremony, there was a punching bag. After participants took their pledge, they were encouraged to physically ’fight back’ against cancer. The Relay committee pulled together and brought a whole new level of enthusiasm to the event.

"I really feel that [our success at Relay had] a lot to do with the passion and commitment of the team captains [and participants]. I really didn't have to do tons of coaxing in order to get teams to participate in [meeting all of our mission delivery goals]," said Angie. "I think that planning also played a big part in our success."

The Relay For Life of Lawrence Township is a great example of what can be achieved at Relay when the committee and participants cooperate to meet mission objectives. To find out how you can join the fight against cancer, call your American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345.

Pictured: Angie Steeno (center) at Relay with fellow volunteers