MAHONING VALLEY Relays raise more than $1 million

Warren's and Boardman's events ranked first and second in the state.
WARREN -- For the second year, the American Cancer Society's Trumbull County Relays for Life led the country for the amount raised in their population group.
Mahoning County's relays ranked sixth for that county's population bracket.
Trumbull's raised $868,876 for the cancer society while Mahoning's brought in $511,696.
Teams of 10 to 15 raise money before the event and each team member walks, runs or jogs around a track through the event. Each relay runs for 24 hours.
Each event begins with a ceremonial lap for cancer survivors.
"The people of the Mahoning Valley always seem to give generously, regardless of the economic condition," said Al Stabilito, communications and advocacy director of the American Cancer Society in Canfield.
"In addition, the people not only donate financially, but they give equally of their time and energy."
Warren's relay at Mollenkopf Stadium and one at Boardman Center Middle School ranked first and second in the state, respectively, for the amount of money raised.
Total raised
The Warren Relay raised $502,015 while the Boardman Relay generated $292,113. That's an increase over Warren's 2002 event, which raised $481,091. Boardman's 2002 relay garnered $318,000.
This year's relays marked the 10th for Warren and the ninth for Boardman.
Trumbull and Mahoning counties added three new relays to the 2003 slate.
A Hispanic Relay for Life was held in June at the Campbell Memorial High School track. Sebring's debut relay was at the high school track in June, and Lordstown's first relay was in late August at the high school.
The Campbell relay was the first Hispanic event in Ohio.
Relay for Life was started in 1985 in Tacoma, Wash., by Dr. Gordon Klatt, an American Cancer Society volunteer who walked a track for 24 hours.
It's grown to 3,800 relays across the country -- 190 of them in Ohio.