With a successful 2018 event behind them, members of the Covington County Relay for Life Committee hope to have better participation next year.

Coordinator Randi Bozeman said she remembers a time when the Kiwanis Center fair grounds were littered with tents for teams of Relay for Life.

“Every year participation has been going down,” she said.

“I remember being in high school and the event was a much bigger thing. It was an all night event.”

Bozeman said that she joined Relay for Life because of what it stood for.

“I joined the committee because I believed in the event. I’ve had friends and family affected by cancer and I’ve seen what it does. I joined it because it benefits the American Cancer Society and helps to find a cure in the future,” she said.

“It started out as this really big thing with a large committee and now it’s kind of declined.”

Bozeman said she doesn’t know what it is, but she’s still very thankful for all the support from the community.

“I know that sometimes it’s hard to get participation. It could be the groups losing support from within.”

This year’s Relay for Life event had seven official teams and raised around $64,000.

The goal was set at $100,000 and 20 teams.

“We tried to do a lot of new things this year, we did a scavenger hunt with some really awesome prizes. We had a lot of support from the businesses in the area with a lot of donations. We collected items for the Hope Lodge in Birmingham. It was a good event, overall.”

For Bozeman, it’s about fighting cancer in a different way.

“The American Cancer Society is a nationwide organization that is dedicated to eliminating cancer. That’s why we donate to them, we all hate cancer. We hate what it does to people and their families. For us, it’s about raising money to find a cure,” she said.

“I want this event to be back to the way it used to be. Anyone can join the committee. It doesn’t matter if you can’t make it to every meeting, we just appreciate any help we can get.”

For more information about getting involved with Relay, please email Bozeman at randikae_07@yahoo.com.