What a great event!

A big thank you to everyone who participated, I hope you've all recovered. I'll save the official thank you's for the program and from posts from other committee members.

The event FELT really electric and its all because of you guys.


The wrap up meeting will be July 22nd, 6pm at Group Health


Thanks to everyone who emailed thoughts and ideas, hopefully we can pass those on to whomever takes over. We don't want to lose our momentum!

Funny things happen when you use Word. I thought I could save some time by just letting word number my tent list as I input things, but somehow, I lost track of a number. I've gotten lots of emails saying "wait we were number 54, and now we're 55"

I've updated it now. I erased the previous listing

WELLLLL

Whew, its a good thing to know you guys look at the blog and caught the mistakes I...cough...purposefully put there to see if people were reading! (I wish, sorry about the mistakes)

I've gotten emails about what I posted, good to know if we messed some things up. Hard to read big green pen.


Updates:

Tent sites:

Team Eaton is in 14
Lifesavers is in 12 (was listed twice)

29- Cure-ious George
30 - Team AmCor
31-Defying Gravity
32 - Military Department
33- Medical For a Cure
68 - St Michael - LifeTeen

See the new entry.

ROSIE & THE RIVETERS PRESENTS

“KAROKE FOR A CURE FUNDRAISER”

HELP US FIGHT CANCER!!!

WHERE: WESTSIDE EMPERORS PALACE

400 COOPER PT RD, OLYMPIA

WHEN: SATURDAY JUNE 19, 8:00PM TO CLOSING

PRIZES: YES THERE ARE PRIZES!!!!

THERE WILL BE DOOR PRIZES! RAFFLE PRIZES!

A KARAOKE CONTEST PRIZE!

Team Escape to Hope Fundraiser #1:
Dine Out at O’Blarney’s

Tuesday, June 1 from 5pm to 10 pm
4411 Martin Way E, Olympia
The code word is “Escape to Hope” & O’Blarney’s will donate 20% of the entire bill to AMC Relay for Life

Team Escape to Hope Fundraiser #2:

Relay for Life Garage Sale Fundraiser
Sat. June 5, 8am to 2pm
VFW Hall, 2902 Martin Way, Olympia

Reminder: If you are doing some sort fundraiser at the Relay For Life itself or if you are doing something for survivors I need that information by the beginning of next week. I will start our Relay Program this weekend.


For those who need a reminder, this is what was handed out at the meeting:


Relay For Life Rough Timeline:


Friday:
2:00 - Gates Open: (based on where you are on the map, you will have a time you can drive down and drop your things by your campsite)
- Balloon arch build, tents put up, etc from 12-4. Anyone who wants to help out, come on by

4:00 – Survivor Registration Opens

6pm- Opening Ceremonies (Looking for a choir or singer)
6:15ish – Survivor Lap
6:20ish – Caregiver Lap
6:30 – Dirty Dave's Spaghetti feed opens (Survivors eat first, for free)
7:30 – Survivor Dessert
8:00 – Last call for names for the Luminaria Ceremony
9:00 – Putting out Luminaria bags
10:00 – Gather in the grass for a Luminaria Survivor speaker and the beginning of Luminaria
12:00 – Relay Olympics begin (Every hour)
-other random things all night!
6:00am – VFW starts pancake breakfast
7:30am – Aerobics (and/or Zumba!)
9:00am – Judging for Best Baton
10am – Survivors getting massages
11am – Judging for Best Decorated Tent Site
12:00pm – Red Robin serves lunch
2:00 – Martial Arts Exhibition
2:00-4:30 – Silent Auction for Relay Bucks

TCTV has been runing Mission: Non - Profit as the Relay For Life of Thurston County for the month of May. I met with Robert who did the interview. Hopefully we got the word out to more people.

Here is the link if you'd like to view it or send it around:

http://blip.tv/file/3561873

This is from Al:

I wanted to update you and give a couple of housekeeping chores to help make this event the best ever. First, here is an update, then the specifics

Meals:

There will be meals served, with all proceeds going to our event, Friday night dinner (630-8:30), Saturday morning breakfast (6:00-8:00), and Saturday Lunch (12:00-2:00). Dirty Dave’s is doing a spaghetti dinner Friday, the VFW is doing a pancake breakfast, and Red Robin is doing lunch. Each meal is only $5 and will be so good as to likely be nominated for a culinary award. Just saying!

So why lug in all that equipment (BBQ, stoves, coolers, ice, tables, utensils, dining ware, etc. when for only $15 you can have all your meals prepared and have a LOT more time having fun? Why, why, why? Besides, we could make well over $10,000 (ten thousand)by eating the great food being donated?

We must sell the tickets ahead of time to give the caterers an idea of how many people will be helping fight cancer using the spaghetti, BBQ chicken and pancake protocols!

By the way, on the way out the door at Dirty Dave’s, Terry mentioned he didn’t think we could sell 300 tickets for the spaghetti dinner. I stopped dead in my tracks (as Doug) and asked what kind of bet. We agreed that if we sold 100 tickets, he would throw another $100 into the event, and if we didn’t I would throw in the $100. Ha, ha, what he doesn’t know is that I have 2 things working for me; 1) the best Relay event in the world and (this might be most important) 2) I don’t have any money!!!

Seriously, please help me take a great guy’s money! All you have to do is buy a GREAT spaghetti dinner that will include a great salad!

Team Captains,

Please use the attached form to pre-sell tickets. You can sign people up, collect their payment, contact me and I will trade the money for tickets. I’ll have tickets for each meal or a “All Cuisine Pass” that will cover the three.

We will need volunteers to bus tables for at least the dinner and lunch.

Teams:

74 and still rocking (you are awesome!)

Fundraising:

20K ahead of where we were this time last year (See, I told you were awesome! And surprise, I have two $25 checks in my pocket to put us over the top J

More to follow.

Team Captains, please respond to me personally that you are selling tickets. We must give accurate estimates to these special vendors, so I’ll need to stay in touch with you. You can reach me at: TALKtoTOP@gmail.com

We've been getting emails about upcoming fundraisers I wanted to add a few to this thread. If you have a gmail account or sign up for a blogger one, you can add yours here as a comment.

May 16 - Olympia Orthopedic team:
Over 21 Spaghetti Feed at Charles Bar and Grill 100% from the Spaghetti Feed go to Relay and 10% of anything between 1-6 goes to as well. Kayla can be reached at khickman@olyortho.com


May 19 - Applebee's in Lacey day

May 21 - Team Morris-Sockle is hosting a Pampered Chef party from 5:30 to 7:30 at 3025 Limited Lane NW. Contact Jill at 866-7100 for details or visit www.pamperedchef.biz/tracygodat

May 23rd and June 6 - Lords of the Track is having a car wash at the Yelm Highway Burger King (corner of Yelm and College in the Safeway parking lot) from 10am - 6pm

Let me know if you any any I can add to this thread.

As many of you know last time we tried to do a fundraiser night at Applebee's in April, and we had a freak accident shut down the power around Sleater Kinney...

Applebee's has been gracious enough to reschedule. For those who didn't get the email...

Applebee's in Lacey, 5-10 pm will be giving 15% of everything they sell to our Relay IF you present them the coupon, one per table is fine.

(upon further look I can't attatch a pdf to this post. If you email me at davidcstickland@gmail.com I will send you a copy if you don't already have one)

With all of us in the midst of fundraising and getting our teams together, and with the Survivor's Luncheon this Saturday, I think its important to take the time to share our stories about why we are fighting cancer.


If you have an inspiring story that motivates you, we want to hear it. Drop a comment or an email to me if you are having trouble with the blog and I will post it here.

Who keeps you making those steps?

I'll add some notes from the meeting tonight during the day tomorrow, but I wanted to make sure I did this tonight.

It was requested that we start a running list of onsite fundraisers. I will keep compiling and adding things for those who aren't so online savvy.


Please, team captains and members, post your team name and if you have a food item and/or activity/raffle you will be doing at the event here, we will compile them all.

Thanks!

Is now up! I am notoriously bad with Facebook, if someone else wants to help manage the group, let me know, I will add you. Relay For Life of Thurston Group!

Being involved in the Relay For Life as a team captain is a real long term commitment. We're excited to meet those who are passionate and motivated to beating cancer with us and being part of our unique way of celebrating that fight.
Some people will tell you that the Relay For Life is a 24 hour event to fight cancer, but any team captain who's done an event or two will tell you that the fight and their work can be a year round commitment. That's certainly a lot for any one person to shoulder alone, and part of what makes the Relay For Life a...well...relay, is that we are part of teams. So what can really make or break a successful team isn't who decides to be the captain, but who the captain chooses to ask to be on the team. Teams can be built from people around an office, friends in a church, family from a dinner table, or friends around town, but what makes a good team member isn't always a good pair of walking shoes and endless stories to round the track with, but how they help that team raise funds before the event.
At the team captain's meeting I likened a good Relay team to something like the Dirty Dozen or the A-Team: dependable friends with complimentary skills that knew how to communicate and trusted each other to succeed. We took some time to brainstorm some of the different qualities that the people on your team need to exhibit. So take a second, write down the names of your team members, think about who they are, and try to make sure you have all the holes filled you think you are going to need. Good teammates are the difference between a lot of hardwork and a rewarding FUN year round experience.

The RelAy-Team:

The Idea Expert: Need someone to point out some opportunities to do something new? Want someone to give you 10 new fundraising ideas to try at the drop of the hat? The idea expert is your person. This is usually a thinker. Sometimes you luck out and these are also the planners who excute the best way to pull off the idea, but isn't always the case. The Idea Expert is essential to motiviating your team to break out of boring patterns or jumpstart success.

The Do-er: The Do-er needs to know just a couple things: "What time do I need to be there and what do I need to wear?" These people usually have a well of enthusiasm and energy for the group, love keeping active, and are always happy to pitch in. Do-er's can be a little discouraged when talking about the "why nots" of an idea for your team and would much rather get out there and give it a go in whatever capacity you need. Do-er's are going to need some direction.

The Mingler: The sociable person who's always happy to chat. We are the face of a very serious illness, and having the human element is really important. Shaking hands, listening, talking, and being the face of your team when you would rather be knee deep in suds washing a car instead of talking to folks. The Mingler is often really good at making a personal connection, but that doesn't mean they are good at asking about donations or money. Thats why you might need...

The Fearless Asker: Doing a lunchtime barbecue in front of your office and needing some hot dogs? The Fearless asker simply needs to know who to call, and they might get you potato chips too. If you are at a restraunt and your waitress has a breast cancer pin on...guess who is going to ask them if they've heard about Relay? Bingo.

The Planner: Someone has to tell people where to go, where to be. Need someone to collect money? Planner will do that. Emails to go out to remind people about the upcoming bake sale? Done! Forget a sign-in sheet for your garage sale? I bet the planner has one in their car. The i-dotter and t-crossers, the planners are the glue for the team.


I am sure there are a few more, feel free to leave some comments about what you might think. When you are looking to build your team, remember not to get stuck in the rut of just where you originally started it. Family and friends can join your church or business team, or your company can sign on to help you with your family team. Go out and find the right crew, and the months towards Relay become some of the best memories you'll have, even after an event

We had about 40 people at the team captains meeting last night. I want to thank everyone who was able to make it.


MEETING NOTES:
1. We started with some committee information. Billy Reese, our publicity chair, compiled a list of local media and ways to get information about your fundraisers or team events in with those places. Billy even set up a permanent spot with the Olympian, so you just log in and add your Relay related information. For a copy you can email Billy Reese.

2. The American Cancer Society is hosting a Fundraising Forum this Saturday from 9:30-11:00AM at Group Health where we hold our meetings. This is a semi-regional event so people from all over the South Sound are invited, its put together by the American Cancer Society's divisional team to help people build up their Relay fundraising abilities. It would be worthwhile for anyone who might want to meet some other team captains and get some new ideas.

3. The American Cancer Society also brought their Quality of Life staff, Jessi Sanders, down to talk about patient services in Thurston county. More on that in another post!

4. We encouraged everyone to use this blog. Which I suppose if you are reading this, totally worked.


EVENT UPDATES:
The goal this year, is to KEEP EVERYONE at the track as much as possible and providing high levels of entertainment and food to make it happen.

1. We made sure you knew that this year, there would be a major upgrade in the way we do food service. Dirty Dave's will be putting a spaghetti feed for the event on Friday night, there will be a Pancake feed on Saturday morning, and a Red Robin chicken bbq on Saturday afternoon. All of this has been donated, the fee for the meals (about 5 dollars) goes right to the Relay. We're hoping this cuts down on the people hauling grills and tons of food to the event and instead, focuses on the things that help continue to push us to our goal and support our sponsors.

2. There will be RELAY OLYMPICS. An event hourly that will require you to field a team member in order to qualify. Those will be set in advance and can be part of your night planning.

3. There will be a DJ this year to play all night and MC a lot of our events. We're looking to cut back on the bands.

4. Getting to your tent site will be easier than ever be for. Paulsons will be donating some ATV's to help us get your stuff to your tent site, and we will be opening another gate, allowing you to pull up at a set time, unload and then move your car. No more dragging things down the dirt road.


I spent a bit of last night putting together a workshop on team member recruitment. I will post this seperately.

With the tragedy of the Hatian Earthquake lots of people wanted to find ways to support rescue efforts.

This is a small news story about a boy of 7 years old who took it upon himself to plan an event to raise money.

I found it inspirational, the support overwhelmingly that the boy got, but the efforts of people around him to say "yes, you can do that" and not tell him no. We should all be encouraged to think big.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hnIcIi8Ebo&feature=player_embedded

We had a great Kick off on Friday night at the VFW. It was full of energy with over 75 people in attendance. Lots of new faces and long time Relayers in attendance.

If you came out to our event you know this year's theme is a hollywood one. (We've tossed around Relaywood, and a few other hollywood names, feel free to post a few of yours). So we had the red carpet, the popcorn, and especially, the stars = YOU.

While the Hollywood theme will be a fun way to come up with new team names, decorate team tents, the REAL theme is making the teams feel supported, successful, and engaged in our event. We're looking forward to a fantastic year, that is all about them. The theme ran right through the kick off!

The Team Development group has been wrangling together some places for teams to go and have team meetings in the community. We'll be asking these places to have a place for teams to congregate, and we'll give them a "Relay For Life" team meeting spot banner. We're also asking that those places participate in Suns and Moons or come up with a Relay item to sell if its a coffee shop or deli.

If you have ideas of good places post some comments!

This year the Relay For Life national team put together some Relay For Life Team Captain modules available online

http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/tcmodules

I went through them tonight and they seem really straight forward and great. These are the kinds of things I'd make sure, if you were a new team captain or recruiting one, that you would share with them. I know I am going to print out a few copies to have with me. The notes aren't bad either.

Also,

We set a theme for the event this year, I'm excited. Now I just have to find some red carpet....

Welcome to the Relay For Life of Thurston County Blog. I'm Dave Stickland, part of the Team Development team.

This space will be for sharing ideas, fundraising information, news on teams, notes from past meetings, etc. For those who are not affiliated with the Relay For Life of Thurston County in Washington State, welcome! My next post will be entitled :What is Relay? with helpful links and thoughts from me encouraging thoughts from you.

We'll have our Kickoff this January 22nd at the Olympia VFW post on Martin Way.

Cheers!