Relay For Life Kickoff... Total Success!

On Tuesday, November 17, my Public Relations and Administration class was finally able to see all of our hard work pay off.

This entire semester, we have been planning the Baldwin County Relay For Life Kickoff (I previously wrote a blog about the pitching experience). Luckily, we were given the theme by the national Relay For Life Committee: "The official sponsor of birthdays," and one of the groups in our class came up with the winning slogan: "Celebrate a memory." It seemed like everything was going to be simple. The hardest part was already done. However, as the event grew closer, so did my blood pressure!

I got out of class that Tuesday afternoon around 1:45. We had all decided as a class to meet at Northside Baptist Church (where the event was being held) by 2. As I was walking out of the library, I see Dr. Miller... She wasn't happy. We only had about three dozen cupcakes donated for an expected 100 people. Somehow Dr. Miller was able to find enough uniced cupcakes at a local grocery store to calm all of our nerves. If it wasn't for her running around like a chicken with her head cutoff, our event would have been unsuccessful (considering the cupckes were key to the ceremony).

What I expected to be the biggest problem turned out to be the least of our worries. The Baldwin County Relay For Life committee did not give us a budget... Nada. How in the world could they expect us to put on an event for over 100 people without a dime? Lucky for us, Brooke Brookins was in our class. She was able to get 100 hamburgers and hotdogs, chips, cookies and a helium tank donated to the event. Other members of the "Food Commitee" were able to get donations from local businesses in the Milledgeville area. There was so much food left over, the entire class was able to make a plate once the event was over and take a plate home for later (and we still had to throw some away). The buffet consisted of hamburgers and hotdogs, baked beans, coleslaw, chips and cookies... The perfect birthday meal.



The menu went perfectly with the theme of the Kickoff, as did the decorations. We made centerpieces of wrapped presents (in Relay colors of course) for the tables that were covered with white and black tablecloths. There were also oversized wrapped presents spaced out on the walls and on the floor throughout the room. Purple candy was sprinkled on the tables, a balloon arch at the door, a banner with the theme on it, and my duty... The candles. For my group's pitch at the beginning of the semester, I came up with the idea of making 27 large candles to signify the years that Relay For Life has been raising money for the American Cancer Society. The committee loved the idea and decided to incorporate the candles into the Kickoff. Professors from the university (including Dr. Miller) and other fellow classmates donated posterboard and art supplies to make the candles the talk of the event. The Give Center even decided to keep them for a later event!

Andrea Lowery and Keri Allgood made nearly everyone in the fellowhip hall cry during the survivor slideshow. They worked extra hard to make the slideshow meaningful through the music, quotes and pictures. Their hard work made the team captains see the importance of their fundraising for ACS.

Beth Benton and I were on the "Media Team" for the event. Beth wrote press releases that were published in local newspapers while I wrote PSAs for the two major radio stations in Milledgeville. I also came up with the idea to advertise the event via pizza boxes. I distributed nearly 1,000 flyers to restaurants who had pizza to go. These restaurants taped the flyers on the front of the boxes for the community to see. Between the newspapers, radio stations and pizza boxes, we had somewhere around 100 team captains from the Milledgeville area to show up for the Kickoff.

Overall, this experience taught me a lot. It first and foremost showed me the importance of handling stress. Staying calm throughout the planning and execution of an event is key. If one person is stressed, it seems to rub off on everyone. It is also extremely important to be connected to the community. Had the class not been connected to the community, it would have been impossible to put on such a successful event without a budget. Lastly, it is important to delegate authority. Lyric, Cara and Kara did an amazing job at assigning different tasks to everyone in the class. Everyone stayed busy before, during and after the event to help everything run smoothly. I was the most amazed by how long it took us to clean up the entire fellowship hall... 30 minutes! We all worked hard together and had an extremely successful event! The community is excited about the upcoming Relay For Life, and that was our job. Great job PR Admin!

~Tori Cantrell~

Swine Flu... No Way!

Aching body, extreme headache, burning eyes, blurred vision, diarrhea, fatigue and a cough that kept me up all night were the symptoms I told the doctor on the worst Wednesday of my life. I started feeling bad Tuesday afternoon. However, I assumed that my tiredness and headache were a result of what my mom calls "running myself ragged" (being busy all of the time). I took what turned into a three hour nap Tuesday afternoon and woke up feeling worse than before. I couldn't let it stop me though, because I had an extremely important test to study for. I took some Coricidin and attempted to study for the rest of the night.

The next morning, I was unable to pick myself up out of the bed. Going to the doctor is my least favorite thing to do, but this time... I knew it was a must. When the doctor finally called me back, she took my vitals. Although I knew I felt bad, I didn't realize the extent of my illness. My fever was at 103.8 and my blood pressure (which is usually extremely low) was 130/90. With wide eyes, the doctor responded to my vitals with the remark, "You're a sick kiddie." After taking a few tests, the doctor sent me home with H1N1. However, my mom insisted that I go to our family doctor back home. They too came back with the same response. On my favorite holiday of the year (Halloween), I got to be quarantined in my own room for five days.

According to cdc.gov, forty-eight states are reporting widespread influenza activity at this time. Of these, "almost all of the influenza viruses identified so far continue to be 2009 H1N1 influenza A viruses." The website gives viewers ways to prevent catching the virus, as well as other important information. Luckily, my body should have built up immunity against the virus so that I will not be able to catch it again. However, with the upcoming winter months, it is important for everyone to be vaccinated to prevent both seasonal flu and swine flu. Believe me... You do not want to learn the hard way!

~Tori Cantrell~

Relay For Life Kickoff

On November 17, my public relations administration class is in charge of planning the Relay For Life Kickoff. Each year, feature stories are written about a person in the Milledgeville, Baldwin County area who have fought cancer or are battling it currently. This year, I did my story on Mr. Bill Kent, a car dealership owner in Milledgeville. The interviewing process and learning about the battles people face everyday made me excited about taking part in such a meaningful event. This is his story:

It was a cold day in January 2007 when Bill Kent heard, what he called, “the worst three words you ever could hear from a doctor: you have cancer.” After taking a routine blood test at his regular checkup, Bill’s doctor noticed that his Prostate-Specific Antigen, or PSA, level was high. His doctor scheduled a biopsy and sent Bill home unsure of his future.

Bill left his doctors office and went back to work to take his mind off of things. Usually, doctors do not begin checking men for prostate cancer until they are 50 years old. He was only 44 years old with three little girls, the youngest being three weeks old. Therefore, the words ‘PSA’ and ‘biopsy’ were the last words he expected to hear that day at his checkup.

A few days later, Bill went in for his biopsy. He and his wife waited anxiously for ten days until the doctor finally called him back in to discuss the results. Bill had an aggressive form of prostate cancer. While his wife “went to pieces,” Bill remembers that his initial response was, “Now what?” He learned as much as he could about the disease while several different doctors explained the treatment options to him and his wife. Luckily, chemotherapy and radiation were unnecessary. In April of that year, doctors at Emory Medical Center were able to remove the cancer, leaving Bill cancer free!

“Being diagnosed with cancer will make you realize how quickly life can change,” Bill said. “You feel indispensable and then realize you’re not. We had great support from our community, family and friends. They became more important than work and other material things that I cared about before.”

During recovery, Bill stayed busy handling work brought home to him by his office manager. He stayed at home for only two weeks before returning to work. However, things changed drastically upon his return. Before he was diagnosed with cancer, Bill owned six car dealerships in several different states. He spent most of his time traveling and even spent a lot of time at his home away from home in Knoxville, Tennessee. Having cancer made him realize how important it was to watch his children grow up. Therefore, Bill sold four of his dealerships and kept two, one in Milledgeville and the other nearby in Macon.

Every three months, Bill goes back to the doctor to make sure his cancer has not returned. In the meantime, he remains active playing several different sports, being a pilot on the side and spending time with the people who mean the most to him.

~Tori Cantrell~