Couple to get Relay award

The Youngstown Relay for Life is the first of 15 Relay events planned in 2008 in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

staff report

YOUNGSTOWN — The late F.W. “William” Knecht and his wife, Connie, will receive the 2008 Community Spirit Award at the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life event at Youngstown State University’s Beeghly Center.

The Youngstown Relay for Life is the first of 15 Relay events planned in 2008 in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties. It will run from 6 p.m. Friday to noon Saturday.

Mrs. Knecht will accept the award, given by the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life Youngstown Planning Board, at 9 a.m. Saturday during a community breakfast connected with the Youngstown relay event. The Knechts are being recognized for their outstanding community service in the Youngstown area as well as to the American Cancer Society, said Sharon Schroeder, chairwoman of the Youngstown Relay For Life.

The Knechts were active in the first Relay For Life in Youngstown in 2001. Mr. Knecht, former owner of Wendell August Forge in Grove City, Pa., was the Mahoning County American Cancer Society’s Man of the Year Award in 1992. He died of cancer in 2004.

The breakfast is in the north lobby of Beeghly Center from 7:30 to 9:15 a.m. Tickets, which may be purchased at the door, are $6 for adults and $4 for children, Schroeder said.

In 2007, Relay for Life events raised $4,625,656 in 13 Northeast Ohio counties, and $1,533,408 was raised in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties: $190,437, $498,545, and $844,426, respectively.

The Warren Relay in Trumbull County was the top fundraiser in the state in 2007, raising $451,892. The Boardman Relay in Mahoning County was third, generating $284,964, said Al Stabilito, ACS spokesman. Money is raised by Relay for Life team fund raisers before and/or during the event.

Each Relay for Life opens as cancer survivors, anyone who has ever been diagnosed with cancer, walk or wheelchair the first lap. Highlighting Friday evening is the Luminaria Ceremony at 9 p.m., at which cancer survivors are honored and those who died of cancer are remembered. The luminaries, which for the Youngstown relay will adorn the South Patio of Beeghly Center, are left burning throughout the night to remind participants of the importance of their contributions, Stabilito said.

“Relay For Life is as much an awareness raiser about the progress against cancer as it is a fundraiser. The funds raised enable the organization to continue its investment in the fight against cancer through education programs, research, advocacy and services to patients,” said Schroeder.