Cheers could be heard in the Richmond Hill City Center on Thursday evening when dozens people gathered to help kick off this year’s sports-themed Relay For Life in Bryan County.

Team members from George Washington Carver Elementary School led the group in cheers to get spirits pumped about the annual event. This year’s co-chairs Amber Jones and Christy Crowley told attendees what their hopes were for this year’s event.

“On April 27 and 28, we will join more than 5,000 other communities, and we will work hard from tonight all the way through the event in April,” Jones said.

From now until the event, Jones said she hopes the teams involved can meet and exceed this year’s fundraising goal for Bryan County of $67,500 and get at least 31 teams involved.

Jones said last year, 31 teams helped raise more than $54,400 in donations and more than $6,000 in sponsorships. But unlike years past, Jones said this year’s event will be countywide.

“We did that so it would be more successful,” Jones said. “We’re really hoping to get the North Bryan people on board because they do a lot of fun things, and it will be great to incorporate their ideas.”

Relay For Life will be from 7 p.m. April 27 until 7 a.m. April 28 in J.F. Gregory Park in Richmond Hill. The relay, Jones said, was created as an overnight event because “cancer never sleeps.”

Jones, who is a two-time cancer survivor, decided to get involved when she was taking cancer treatments in Savannah last summer.

After her treatments, she would volunteer in the American Cancer Society’s office in Savannah, which led to her involvement in Relay For Life.

Coinciding with this year’s sports theme, trophies, megaphones, pom poms and other sports gear decorated the tables where attendees sat and socialized.

Gretchen Pearce, Darlene Broeckling and Jenn Frei were talking with one another over snacks and beverages and said they were all looking forward to the event for various reasons.

Read more in the Jan. 21 edition of the News.