June 29, 2015 - The Shelby County Relay for Life held their wrap-up party on Friday, June 26th and announced raising a total of $74,516.71. Team and individual awards were presented and recognition was given to everyone who helped make Relay for Life 2015 a success.
Becky Parfait, Shelby County Relay for Life Committee Chairperson, announced she would be stepping down as chairperson for the event due to personal reasons. She addressed everyone about next year's relay saying, "Even though I'm not chair, I look forward to seeing all of y'all again next year. The first ten years we did wonderful! Hopefully, we won't need another ten [years] but we will take each one as it goes and as long as we need to do it, we will continue to do it." Parfait continued saying, "The Relay will continue even without me at the top. Somebody will take over and we will make sure [Shelby County Relay for Life] doesn't die."
"It has been my honor and privilege to be event chair for as many years as I have been event chair. My heart will always be with Relay. I'll always fund-raise; I'll always be on a team," expressed Parfait.
The first awards presented recognized fundraising levels which were as follows:
Rising Star Level ($1,000 up to $2,499) - Never Give Up Always Look Up, Smyrna Sole Savers, and Gaddy’s Medical
Silver Level ($3,500 up to $4,999) - TSB Believe Team (Texas State Bank) and Cooling for a Cure (Portacool)
Gold Level ($5,000 up to $7,499) - Timpson ISD and Shelby Savings Bank
Jade Level ($10,000 up to $14,999) - Lydia MBC
Sapphire Level ($15,000 up to $24,999) - Strides of Hope
Team Captains were recognized for their hard work and continuing efforts throughout the year. Team captains were presented with a standup cooler and co-captains were presented with gift bags. Team Captains were Cooling For a Cure - Laurie King; Gaddy’s Medical – Susan Mitchell, (co-captain) Shirley Brittain; Game Warden Wives! – Brittany Hall; Lydia MBC - Amy Oswalt; Never Give Up Always Look Up – William Morris; Shelby Savings Bank – Whitney Burgay; Smyrna Sole Savers – Stacy O’Rear; Stepping For a Cure – Requanah Santifer; Strides of Hope – Stacey Scarborough, (co-captain) Kristin Whisenant; Texas State Bank – Mary Cummings; Timpson ISD – Teresa Burns.
Committee members were recognized as well. They are Accounting - Stacey Scarborough; Luminaria – Kristen Whisenant; Survivor - Stacey O’Rear, Sandy Runnels, Shirley Brittain, Paula Kay; Teams - Tammy Sparks and Amber Coburn; and Staff Partner – Rachelle Frankens.
The family and children of committee members were recognized for their work and support. Committee members sign up for the challenge; family members involuntarily become a part of the team and endure all the challenges along with the committee members.
Fourteen people received ‘$1000 T-shirts' for raising $1,000 plus for Relay for Life. They were: Gaddy Medical team - Shirley Brittain; Lydia MBC team - Sue Carter, Atwood Kay, Amy Oswalt, Imernell Vaughn, Jack Vaughn; Smyrna Sole Savers team - Stacy O’Rear; Strides of Hope team - Rebecca Parfait; Timpson ISD team - Teresa Burns, Amber Coburn, April Ramsey, Tammy Sparks; and TSB Believe - Mary Cummings, Mary Lowe.
Awards were presented for teams and individuals who logged their money raised online. Most money raised online by a team was 3rd place with $210 was Stepping for a Cure, 2nd place with $3,292 went to Lydia MBC, and 1st place with $4,226.10 raised went to Timpson ISD. Most money raised online by an individual awards were then presented and all but one of the individuals was a member of the Timpson ISD team. Third place went to Teresa Burns with $695.10 raised and second place was a tie with $1,000 each raised by April Ramsey, Timpson ISD, and Atwood Kay who is a member of LydiaMBC team. First place individual was Amber Coburn who raised $1,756 online.
Overall Awards were presented to teams and individuals for most money raised. Most Money Raised Team awards were 3rd place for $7,200 raised went to Shelby Savings Bank, 2nd place with $10,841 raised went to Lydia MBC, and 1st place with a total of $22,377.12 raised went to Strides of Hope. Most Money Raised Individual awards were presented with 3rd place going to Mary Cummings with TSB Believe team for raising $2,860, 2nd place went to Imernell Vaughn with Lydia MBC for raising $3,100 and 1st place was won by Becky Parfait, Strides of Hope, for raising $21,020.
Gaddy’s Medical team received Silver Survivorship team recognition for having a total of 25 years total in survivor years among its members.
The following teams all received Rising Star Level certificates.
