Walking for hope: Relay for Life

It was a down year for Bigfork's Relay for Life, but the more than $24,000 that was raised is nothing to balk at.

"In the end, it's a lot of work, but I'll still do it for the $24,000 because it is $24,000 they didn't have," said Debbie Ingram, who helped organize the event.

At its peak, Bigfork's Relay, which is in its sixth year, raised $83,000.

"I look forward to an upswing in the economy so we can recover money-wise, but we had a lot of fun," Ingram said. "The overall consensus was that it was a really fun event and we managed to raise some money too, so it was a success."

Melissa Hulvat, a breast surgeon at Bass Breast Cancer Center at Kalispell Regional Medical Center was the keynote speaker at the opening ceremonies. Hulvat focused her talk on survivors, which she first informed the crowd that she had a slightly different definition for than the American Cancer Society. She explained that the ACS says a survivor is anyone who has ever heard the words "You have cancer." However, to Hulvat, a survivor is anyone who has ever heard those words or supported someone else who has.

Although at times she has to deal with great sadness, Hulvat said she mostly finds inspiration in her work.

"I teach my patients medicine and they teach me about being a survivor," Hulvat said.

Ingram, who has helped out with the Relay since its inception, said she gets a similar feeling from this annual event, which is why she keeps coming back each year. Ingram chaired the event for the past two years and this year when no one volunteered to take the lead she volunteered to help again.

"We just didn't have a lot of volunteers this year," Ingram said.

Other numbers were down as well. There were just 16 teams signed up to participate, and some raised money for the Relay but chose not to walk in the event.

"We were way down on participants and we were way down on survivors and I don't know why," Ingram said.

Even with the decrease in numbers, the Bigfork relay raised $24,500 and about another $1,500 is expected to be added to that total following fundraisers hosted by the Swan River 4-H Club and Flathead Bank. The 4-H Club is hosting a car wash from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the CrossRoads Christian Fellowship Church and will have a rummage sale on a later date. Flathead Bank is hosting both a rummage sale and a car wash next month.

This year's Relay also saw a big change in the lineup of entertainment, which featured less music and more dance groups and games.

"For those of us that have been with it (Bigfork Relay for Life) from the beginning it was a different Relay than in past years," Ingram said. "Especially the entertainment was different, but we really liked it. We just sat back and said that we just really enjoyed the way we did it this year."

Anyone interested in donating to the Relay for Life may still do so through Aug. 31 by going to any Bigfork bank or contacting a Bigfork Relay team member.