October 14, 2019
The 2019 South Burnett Relay for Life campaign has raised an “awesome” amount for the Cancer Council of Queensland … at least $111,000 and counting
Committee chair Rowena Dionysius told southburnett.com.au the 28 teams entered this year had done a fantastic job of fundraising.
The two biggest individual events were the Dinner For The Captains earlier this year, which raised $42,000, and the Ride 4 Relay, which finished on Saturday morning and brought in almost $21,000.
The rest was raised by individual teams or during the actual Relay at the Kingaroy Showgrounds last weekend.
“It is an awesome effort for an area this size,” Rowena said.
Rowena’s own team, “2019 Cancer-Free Future”, was recognised as the highest team fundraiser, bringing in $9000.
The Best On-Site Fundraiser and the Highest Fundraising School titles were both won by Taabinga State School which raised an amazing $7000.
After a couple of rain-affected years, the 2019 Relay For Life went ahead as planned at the Kingaroy Showgrounds.
(Everyone wants the rain, except when you’re trudging around a speedway track in the wee small hours of the morning …)
“We were very lucky,” Rowena said. “It rained just before the start of the Relay but then it didn’t rain again all night.”
The weekend began at 3:00pm on Saturday with the reading of the Relay For Life ode by South Burnett Relay For Life patron Carl Rackemann.
The 2019 Faces of Relay, Carla and Eric Cross, led the first lap around the oval – the traditional Survivors’ and Carers’ Walk – headed by piper Wayne Darr.
The rest of the walkers then joined in, pausing only at dusk for the Candlelight Ceremony of remembrance.
The walkers were kept entertained with music provided by local entertainers, including jazz band Soul Good, Lloyd Back, Amber Goldsmith and Skin’n Bone.
The gates were locked at 11:00pm but the walkers kept on lapping the oval until about 8:00am on Sunday when the fundraising figures were announced.
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For the third year, the finish of the five-day South Burnett Mountain Bike Club’s Ride 4 Relay coincided with the main Relay For Life weekend.
The 20 or so cyclists rode into the Kingaroy Showgrounds just ahead of a cloudburst of rain and tiny hail.
They covered an official distance of 401.6km and had raised an incredible $20,606.90 by Monday, although this figure was still climbing.
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