Hope, support, awareness, and remembrance were just a few of the words that were swirling around in conver-sation Friday evening, April 27, as supporters, survivors, and volunteers of Catoosa and Walker counties came to-gether in Fort Oglethorpe to celebrate the 2012 Relay for Life sponsored by the American Cancer Society.

From dusk till dawn, hundreds of people flocked to the track at Tommy Cash Stadium at Lakeview-Fort Ogle-thorpe High School to raise awareness, offer support, and to honor those who have lost their lives to this devastat-ing disease.

“Everybody knows someone in their life that has been affected by cancer, and it’s events like this that really do a lot to support the cause,” said Rossville resident Susan Barker. “My mother passed away from cancer, and that’s why I come out every year, to honor her.”

The event began late Friday afternoon and carried over until Saturday morning.

“It’s always a wonderful event, and we are proud to be a part of it every year,” said survivor Connie Holcombe. “The love and support that is shown every year is really special.”

The event’s luminary dedication, which is always an emotional portion of the night, went one step further in helping a worthy cause as all the canned donations collected leading up to the event were used to hold the bags in place, then taken to a local food bank.

“We thought it would be a great way to show appreciation for the donated items by using them to hold the lumi-nary bags instead of sandbags,” said Susan Tankersly, one of the event’s coordinators.

The relay, which annually takes place the last weekend in April, was extra emotional and special this year as it was the one-year anniversary of the devastating tornados that struck the north Georgia community.

“This event is really important to the community every year, but this year, I think it means a little more,” said Wendy Murphy of Rock Spring. “A year ago today the community experienced something that nobody will ever for-get. I think it’s good that we have a fun-loving event to take part in tonight to help us heal from last year and to also raise awareness and support for cancer.”