Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
CMI Photo: Tony BullocksJeremy Martineau ran laps to raise funds with the Society Of American Military Engineers High Plain Post Friday during the American Cancer Society Relay for Life at Ned Houk Park in Clovis.
CMI Photo: Tony BullocksTiarah Light, right, and Bailey Kinley both of Clovis throw darts at their Charlie's Angels booth during a break in the action Friday at the American Cancer Society Relay for Life at Ned Houk Park in Clovis. Light's aunt, Marlene Vella, is a cancer survivor.
Hundreds were walking the track Friday night at Ned Houk Park, marking another year of the Relay for Life fundraiser.
CMI Photo: Tony Bullocks
Jeremy Martineau ran laps to raise funds with the Society Of American Military Engineers High Plain Post Friday during the American Cancer Society Relay for Life at Ned Houk Park in Clovis.
Well, maybe not everybody. Jeremy Martineau decided it was a nice night for a jog.
Martineau, a civilian employee at Cannon Air Force Base, handled early walking/jogging duties for the Society of American Military Engineers High Plains Post, while the other dozen or so members hung out in their tents and grilled burgers on the west end of the somewhat-circular track of luminarias. They would take their turns groups taking part in the annual fundraiser for the American Cancer Society on a somewhat chilly May night.
A few more hours of rain, and walkers would have been treated to a much different climate, vendor chair Rebecca Holt said.
"At about 10:30 a.m. I came out here, it was pouring down," Holt said of the morning rain. "We were seeing if we were going to have to take it to North Plains Mall, which was the backup plan."
By that point, however, participants were already geared up, as about a dozen recreational vehicles were already parked for the night-long event.
The spirit of Relay for Life includes a lap for survivors of cancer, and a night-long walk from each team, with team members taking shifts throughout the night.
The trail is lined with both park lighting and luminarias, white paper bags with individual messages from the people who purchased them.
"We've had so many people (using the luminarias), telling us why they relay," Holt said. "That's the sad part; we can't light them because of the (county burn) ban.
CMI Photo: Tony Bullocks
Tiarah Light, right, and Bailey Kinley both of Clovis throw darts at their Charlie's Angels booth during a break in the action Friday at the American Cancer Society Relay for Life at Ned Houk Park in Clovis. Light's aunt, Marlene Vella, is a cancer survivor.
Teams do most of their fundraising before, but many raise extra money at the event by offering games, prizes and refreshments while team members walk around a track. Items sold included candy bars, time in a bouncy castle, bracelets and massages.
