By Vanesa Brashier, editor@bluebonnetnews.com
The South Liberty County Relay for Life chapter provided a financial boost in the fight for cancer research on Friday, April 5. This year’s event, held at War Memorial Stadium in Liberty, raised $45,000 and donations are still coming in, said one of the organizers, Crista Beasley-Adams.
Attendance and booth participation was slightly down from years past, but Beasley-Adams said a change in committee members has many of the current volunteers learning on their feet.
“We had to regroup this year and start over with new people. We still have a lot to learn,” she said, adding that the chance of rain in the forecast might have kept some people away from this year’s event.
Still, they managed to have 17 teams and 12 major sponsors. Sponsors included Wingfield Concrete, $2,500; Health Center of Southeast Texas, $1,000; First Liberty National Bank, $1,000; Smart Oilfield Services, $500; Chili’s, $180, and $100 donations from Allison Funeral Home, Judy’s Bookkeeping, Trailer Works Inc., Main Frame Wrecker, Dr. David Arnold, DDS, Raywood Livestock and Arc Lives Welding.
One of the booths that raised the most money was Cavemen Clubbing Out Cancer, which is affiliated with a private daycare owned by Dayton resident Donna Puckett.
“Our goal was to raise $3,601 and we raised $4,500 through parents and fundraisers. Someone tonight handed me a $20 bill for our booth because the kids were so cute,” Puckett said.
Relay for Life events include a Survivors Lap for people who have battled cancer and survived. Dayton resident Twila Hotaling and her daughters, Dee Merrill of Dayton and Theresa Hardage of Cleveland, are all cancer survivors. Hardage is still undergoing treatment for bladder cancer while Hotaling and Merrill have both survived ovarian cancer.
Hotaling’s advice for other young woman is check for cancer early.
“Get tested as soon as you can. Keep up with your doctors, and if you find a good doctor, keep him,” she said.
Pct. 2 Commissioner Greg Arthur was among the walkers. Though he isn’t a cancer survivor, he has had friends and family experience the dreaded disease. He likes to attend the Liberty-Dayton and Cleveland events every year. The North Liberty County Relay for Life, which includes Cleveland and Tarkington, will be held on April 26 at Cleveland Municipal Park.
“I think it’s a really great chance to get out and support cancer research and to share our support and prayers for the ones still fighting it,” Arthur said.
Next year’s South Liberty County Relay for Life will be held next April at the Dayton High School stadium. In years past, the event has bounced between the two neighboring communities of Liberty and Dayton, but it was stopped in recent years.
Beasley-Adams said the decision to alternate the event between the two cities was announced at the start of this year’s event.
Twila Hotaling of Dayton (seated left) brought along her two daughters, Dee Merrill (standing), also of Dayton, and Theresa Hardage of Cleveland to the South Liberty County Relay for Life on Friday, April 5, at the War Memorial Stadium in Liberty. All three are cancer survivors. 
Kim Hughes with Health Center of Southeast Texas is pictured with Liberty County Pct. 2 Commissioner Greg Arthur at the South Liberty County Relay for Life on Friday at War Memorial Stadium in Liberty. 
Doug “Showdog” Chessher and his daughter, Krista Beasley Adams, are on the committee that organize the South Liberty County Relay for Life, which was held Friday, April 5, at War Memorial Stadium in Liberty. 
First Liberty National Bank sponsored a booth at the South Liberty County Relay for Life event on Friday, April 5, at War Memorial Stadium in Liberty. Pictured left to right are Kelley Allison, Lana Pearson, Keisha Robinson, Kaylee Robinson, Holli Beth Mathews, Cacey Brooks and Sarah Richards. 
Hardin Lions Club members Heather West-Seward, Bonita Davis and Suzie Vestal showed their support for cancer research by hosting a booth at the South Liberty County Relay for Life on Friday, April 5, at War Memorial Stadium in Liberty. 
A sandbox at the South Liberty County Relay for Life event on Friday, April 5, at War Memorial Stadium in Liberty kept Taylor LeVier, Hadley Brown, Mason Flores and Case Robinson busy. 
It’s become a tradition for Dave “Showdog” Chessher and Sarah Rucker, who has Down’s Syndrome, to dance at every Relay for Life event. The two danced to the Village People’s hit song “YMCA” and “The Hokey Pokey” song. 
Cavemen Clubbing Out Cancer was one of the booths at Friday night’s South Liberty County Relay for Life at War Memorial Stadium in Liberty. 
Prior to Friday’s South Liberty County Relay for Life event, the youngest members of Cavemen Clubbing Out Cancer posed for a group photo. They are (left to right) Mason Flores, Blakely Brown, Cooper Neal, Hadley Brown, Taylor LeVier and Hadley Neal. 
Cancer survivors gather for a group photo in the middle of War Memorial Stadium in Liberty for the start of the South Liberty County Relay for Life on Friday, April 5. (Photo courtesy of Kim Hughes with Health Center of Southeast Texas)