T'ville Relay fundraisers flush out the donations
By Dana Dunn Special to the Times

Strange lawn ornaments are cropping up all around Thomasville.

Black crows by the score have been seen hanging out in otherwise pristine yards. Gaudy flowers adorn beds and, well, some items even more- colorful- have been spotted.

At this writing, a pink, purple, yellow and green "potty" sits between the entrance and exit doors to Gaston's Grill. Flowers, curlicues, and polka dots adorn its gleaming porcelain surface.

The top of the tank gives befuddled diners their first clue as to what's up- it reads "Flush Cancer".

Now, I'm not sure exactly how the process works, but I do know the proprietors of the restaurant did not voluntarily place a commode- no matter how cheerfully decorated- outside their establishment. It appears mysteriously, with no witnesses as to who delivered it (if the team is lucky). The business or home owner must then negotiate financial terms in order to get the porcelain throne removed.

It's not extortion, it's fundraising.

The pink and purple potty is one of the many fundrais-

PHOTO BY TONYA JOYCE

David Gaston has a little fun with the "Flush Cancer" Relay for Life fundraising toilet that was mysteriously placed at the entrance to Gaston's Grill. ers for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. Relay for Life of Thomasville is coming up April 25 and 26, and teams are collecting pledges and donations, raffling off items, selling lunch plates, and holding all sorts of activities to raise money for the fight against cancer.

For example, First United Security Bank's team is raffling a 10/22 Ruger rifle with a scope and sling. The chances are $5 each, and they can be purchased from a team member at the north Highway 43 branch.

Family Security Credit Union is offering raffle tickets with three potential prizes: first place, a handmade cedar porch swing; second place, a Sony home theater system; and third place, a Magnavox DVD player. The tickets are $5 each.

A team made up of Thomasville High School seniors recently sold chicken salad plates, and they will soon be doing that again. The plates are $5, and they will be delivered.

A lemonade stand will be set up next to Frames and Frocks on Saturday, April 12. The Rayford McKinley Memorial team is manning the stand, and they're also planning a concert on April 19 at the National Guard Armory featuring Good News, Damascus, and other local groups.

A downtown event coordinated by all of the school teams will be held on "tax day", April 15, with principals climbing into dunking booths for this good cause. Refreshments will be available, and other activities are also planned.

Those are just a few of the many events taking place to raise money for the Relay for Life of Thomasville. Twentynine teams, with 10 or more members each, are counting on the generosity and compassion of local individuals and businesses to meet their fundraising goals for this event. Last year Thomasville's relay brought in almost $110,000 to be used for cancer research, assisting local cancer patients, and advocacy. That amount put the city among the top in the nation in fundraising per capita.

If you'd like to donate to the American Cancer Society through a local person involved in Relay, the following businesses, churches, organizations, and individuals have teams; team captains are shown in parenthesis. THS Seniors (Jennifer Henson), Southwest Alabama Medical Center (Holly Hutto), New Hope #1 Baptist (Cynthia Marx), K&T Air (Angelique Kane), Thomasville High School staff and teachers (Cindy Hare), UPS- two teams (Tiana Bouler and Chris Owes), Thomasville Elementary (Jill Doggett), Alabama Southern students (Cameron Dungan),

Alabama Southern Ambassadors (Cameron Dungan), Pineview Baptist (Tami Black), First United Security Bank (Brandi Webb and Donna Bedwell), WalMart- three teams (Dara Ashcraft, Laura Thrash, and Melissa Pope), Friends of Relay (Angie Bradford and Debra Wood), In Memory of Rayford McKinley (Kimberly Overstreet, Christy Knight);

Thomasville Fire Department (Karen Dean), Thomasville Middle School (Leann Moore), Springfield Methodist Church (Paula Byrd), Family Security Credit Union (Sedera Sims), New Greater First Baptist Church (Horace Curry),

Louisiana Pacific (Teresa Singley), Amedisys (Johnny Reid), In Memory of Emory Webb (Elizabeth Barnes), Thomasville United Methodist Church (Phil Craddock), Lewis Pest Control, and Thomasville Junior Women's Club (Courtney Wood).

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