By Dee Longfellow
For The Elmhurst Independent
While officially open for only an hour, as of 4 p.m. on Saturday, Relay for Life had already reached its goal of 100,000 — in fact, surpassed it by $200.
On a gloomy, cold and rainy Saturday, May 11, there was no better place to be than inside the Joe Newton Fieldhouse at York High School for the 2019 Elmhurst Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society.
While organizers have admitted over the past few years that the event was dwindling in attendance, this year the Relay seemed to be back on the track toward great success, not only from hitting their financial goal so early, but also because there were just more people, more activity, more buzz.
Anne Sullivan was at the entrance to the event along with long-time volunteer Donna Viverito, who had been part of Relay for 24 years. Sullivan, who chaired Elmhurst’s Relay for Life for 18 years, along with help from Cissy Kieft and Trisha Hall, told the Independent there was now a new leader at the helm.
Magen Ryan Straz has taken over the leadership of Relay for Life and Sullivan, for one, couldn’t be happier.
“We needed someone like her,” Anne said. “Magen is young and enthusiastic and we really needed fresh blood and new ideas to take Relay to the next level. She is a delight to work with and so positive.”
Magen’s mother Karen Ryan also worked as a volunteer alongside Sullivan, Kieft and Hall. Magen obviously learned a lot about volunteerism from observing her mother and her friends, announcing at a very early age that someday, she wanted to not just volunteer for Relay but also to be the organizer one day – and that day is here.
At 4 p.m., Magen took the podium and announced the beginning of the Relay itself, asking survivors to meet under the big balloon arch to walk the first lap.
Elmhurst’s own Bridey Costello sang the National Anthem, while the crowd stood and saluted the flag. Bridey’s father Brian Costello is one of the Shannon Rovers and frequently comes out to events to perform on the bagpipes, which he was scheduled to do later that evening.
Three scholarship recipients from the Mary K. Steffens Foundation – Suzy Maloney, Kaitlin Templeman and Madeline Welz — were introduced to the room, following by Mary McCann who talked about her entire family’s struggling with cancer, including herself and her son.
At 4:30 p.m., the Survivor Lap began, kicking off this year’s Elmhurst Relay for Life with jovial survivors marching – in some cases, dancing – to inspirational tunes like Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing.”
The Survivor-Caregiver event was sponsored by the Mary K. Steffens Foundation, although this is likely the last year. The Foundation recently announced it was ceasing operations.
The remainder of the time until 11 p.m. went by in a flurry of games, music, contests, performances and general fun for all. The Independent will report the final numbers of the money raised in a future edition.
