6th Annual North & Central Frontenac Relay For Life

Jun 27, 2013

The 2013 North and Central Frontenac Relay for Life took place at the Parham fairgrounds on June 21 & 22. The event saw 26 teams, dressed to the nines, camping out and lapping the track all night long as they remembered and celebrated their loves ones who have survived or succumbed to the disease.

Claire Macfarlane is no stranger to the relay. Claire, who now works as the unit president for the KLF&A Canadian Cancer Society, founded the Relay For Life in Parham six years ago and chaired the event in its early years before first sharing and eventually handing over the role to Lesley Merrigan.

Lesley has been the force behind the relay for the last two years. She introduced Claire to the crowd at the opening ceremonies first as “a friend” and then brought her to the stage with the words, “Without Claire Mcfarlane none of this would be happening in Parham today.”

Macfarlane's role at this year's relay was as the survivor speaker and her speech made for an emotional start to the 12-hour event, which was masterfully emceed by Jim MacPherson and Lindsay Fox.

Before she spoke Macfarlane invited to the stage eight members of her own family who have survived a cancer diagnosis, and read the names of three others in the family who were not as fortunate. She began by saying as she fought back tears, “I am honoured to be here...and never thought that I would be here as a survivor.” She continued, “ 'Why me?' is the question that everyone asks when first diagnosed with cancer.” She spoke of the stressful events leading up to her diagnosis of lung cancer in October 2012, which she later found out had metastasized to her lymph nodes. Since then she has undergone numerous tests, blood transfusions and chemotherapy treatments and continues her fight. She will soon be undergoing the sixth cycle in her current chemo treatment. “It doesn't matter what kind of cancer you have been diagnosed with; it always scares the (you know what) out of everyone. The process is a long and tiring one and the setbacks are devastating. ” She ended her speech by saying that in the end the question ends up being not “Why me?” but rather, “ Why not me?”

Macfarlane was invited to carry a banner and lead the survivors in the first lap of the track. She was joined by two other survivors in her family, her daughter Tonja and her spouse Garnett England, and they were in turn followed by the entire survivor group.

The event, which began on that poignant emotional high, continued well into the night and early morning, with a stellar lineup of events to keep participants entertained. Live music included local favorites Shawn McCullough and Bauder Road and kept participants' spirits high. By early morning when the final announcement was made, participants had raised over $71,000, with donations still coming in.

Lesley Merrigan has brought her fiery personality and unbridled and contagious enthusiasm to the fundraiser for the past four years, the last two as chair of the relay. She said that this year the team fundraising has blown her away. “Right up until the event I was getting a steady flow of emails from the teams telling me where they were at as far as fundraising and they have absolutely blown me away with what they have been able to do.”

Not only do the fundraising dollars prove that but also the spirit of all the participants, committee members and volunteers who took part.