Wrap Up of St. John's First Relay for Life

Well, we have now completed the first of what will hopefully be many successful Relay for Life events on our phenomenal little island! St. John stepped up big time! When St. John rallies like it did, it makes me so proud to be a part of this island!

If you happen to forget why we all live here or vacation here, events like this truly make you remember why. St. John is a special place. All walks of life and all age groups were involved in the event. No community I have ever been a part of comes together like this small one for events of this nature.

Our goal given to us by the National Cancer Society was $35,000. As of Friday we had raised $122, 000! And the funds were still trickling in! Not bad for a first go at things and an island of 4500 people! I cannot say enough about our sponsors, teams and volunteers. Everyone poured out so much time and effort and it showed. We set the bar high for the following years but I would not have had it any other way.

The event, which lasted from 4pm to 10am, featured entertainment all evening long from all over the world. There were also food vendors, massage tents, a dunk tank and many other events that helped keep people there through the night! The survivors dinner, which honored cancer survivors and their caretakers took place right in the middle of the ballfield as well. We had a four course meal for 80 people from some of the best chefs on the island. Mathayom Private Chefs, Ted's Super Club, Zozo's and La Plancha each provided courses for the outstanding candlelight dinner.

Grande Bay Resort sponsored a team known as the Grande Seahorses which helped to raise almost $2,000 in donations. I would like to say thank you to the select Grande Bay owners who helped to contribute to the cause! Grande Bay, along with sponsoring a team, also housed one of the musical artists who traveled in from Tampa, Florida.

Overall, we could not have been happier with the way it turned out. Considering the success of our first year, we are already in preperation for next years event! It's never to early! I will update everyone when we have a date for the Relay for Life in 2012 as well as when we have our final tally from 2011! Check out www.stjohnrelayforlife.org for pictures of the event, links to facebook and how to become involved next year!

Brian