Relay For Life Directors Hard At Work
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Relay for Life is a big event around the world and it is also a big event in State College. Dozens of students and local residents walk to bring awareness to cancer.
However, none of the festivities can happen without detailed planning. Lily Whitmoyer (fourth-year — neuropsychology) is the executive event director for the relay.
Whitmoyer has been relaying since elementary school and was the team captain for her high school team. Her great Aunt was deemed cancer free after a battle with colon cancer.
There will be 161 participants in this year’s relay. Whitmoyer’s main responsibility is to make sure each committee has what it needs for the relay.
“I'll basically be doing rounds going from table to table over and over again,” Whitmoyer said. “If someone needs to step away from the table for 10 minutes, I can cover their shifts. If something is going wrong, I'm the one who will go over to try to fix it.”
Whitmoyer oversees eight committees ranging from social media, to merchandise and logistics.
Some committees are not as big as others. Elke Durso’s (fourth-year — HTFS) job is not as task intensive, but she still serves an important role in selling Relay For Life merchandise.
The main function of the directors in general is to answer any questions someone has. The workload is not as intensive on the day of the relay compared to planning it.
Once everyone heads home, planning for the next relay begins one week after.
Relay for Life will kick off on Saturday, Apr. 9.
Jacob Cheris is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jacobcheris19@gmail.com
