WESTMINSTER Campus is site of fund-raiser

The Westminster College relay is one of two in Pennsylvania run completely by college students.
By ELLEN LIST
SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- Later this month, 1,300 people of all ages are expected to flock to Westminster College for a 12-hour event to raise money for the American Cancer Society.
Five years ago, the event grew out of a college freshman's appreciation to a professor who had helped him.
Mike Zebrine's first communication with Dr. Peter Macky, head of Westminster's religion and philosophy department and soccer coach, was in the spring of 1996, when Macky contacted him about playing soccer at Westminster.
Changed outlook: "I told him I wasn't good enough to play soccer at the college level," said Zebrine, "[but] he helped me believe in myself, in my ability -- not just as a soccer player. ... He gave me confidence, and I just wanted to be around him."
In anticipation of playing soccer for Macky, Zebrine chose Westminster. When he arrived at soccer camp that August, Macky was no longer the coach.
Three months earlier, around the time that Zebrine was graduating from high school, Macky was sitting in a doctor's office hearing these words: "You have cancer of the lining of the lungs ... from breathing asbestos over a period of time. It's untreatable. It's terminal."
About seven months into Zebrine's freshman year, Macky died.
To honor a friend: A desire to do something in Macky's memory began to stir in Zebrine.
He contacted the Lawrence County American Cancer Society and Camille Hawthorne, associate dean of student affairs at Westminster. He shared his dream with Alpha Sigma Phi, his 58-member fraternity, which under Zebrine's leadership became the workhorse behind the vision.
And Relay for Life was born at Westminster.
Relay is an American Cancer Society awareness and fund-raising event that allows participants from all walks of life, including cancer patients, to join in the fight against cancer. Using a team concept, friends, relatives, businesses, community, medical staff, schools, churches, and young and old walk in shifts on the track to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Each team member pays a $10 registration fee and is asked to raise a minimum of $100.
Unique: A Relay for Life "is the single greatest event I've ever seen," said Bruce Bauman of the Lawrence County American Cancer Society. The Westminster Relay is one of the few in the country -- two are in Pennsylvania -- that is college initiated and executed solely by college students, he said.
The Westminster Relay not only raises funds for the American Cancer Society, but it also provides a day to celebrate and to remember through two specific activities:
* The Survivor's Walk -- a celebration of life: at 4:30 p.m. cancer survivors will step forward to be honored and encouraged as they take one lap around the track together. Some will use canes, some wheelchairs, and some will walk -- but all will make one victory lap around the track while hundreds of supporters line the track.
* The Luminary Service -- a time to remember: luminary bags, each named either in honor of or in memory of somebody, line the track, while other luminaries, on different levels of the bleachers, spell hope.
Last year, Macky's widow, Nancy, sat in the dark on the hillside overlooking the track. From there she watched the luminary service. "What a sight. It's marvelous," she said. "Not only because of Peter, who was special to me, but because [of these] people who care about others ... it's wonderful for me to see the legacy go on. ... Peter would be so honored."
XFor participation information, contact Bauman at (724) 654-5577.