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Musician to honor mom at Poland Relay
By robert guttersohn
poland
Ryan Ross lost his mother, Carol McEvery Ross, to breast cancer when he was only 6, yet her passion for music is still with him today at 30.
“The first present I got was a brown Fisher Price radio for Christmas,” Ross said.
Although Ross has no specific memories of Carol during the short time they shared, he said her love for rock musicians such as Tom Petty filtered down to him.
On Friday, his five-piece band, Ryan Ross and Ytown Syndicate, will play at the fourth annual Poland Relay for Life.
The 24-hour relay takes place from 6 p.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Saturday at Poland Seminary High School, 3199 Dobbins Road.
Nationally, Relay is the signature fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. According to the ACS website, 3.5 million people take part in relays spanning 55 communities across the country.
The first Poland relay was in 2008, raising $13,000. A year later, the event raised $41,000 and then $45,000 in 2010. This year, the relay is hoping to raise $53,000.
“We really are a family out there,” said Lori Probst, Poland Relay co-chairwoman. Her father, a cancer survivor, was the first person to walk in the first Poland relay.
She lost her best friend to cancer in 2001, but saw her friend’s nine-year fight as a small victory.
“When she was originally diagnosed, doctors told her she had six to nine months to live,” Probst said. “That’s why we do what we do, to raise funds for research and treatment.”
Probst said there are entertaining events such as a talent show and a midnight fire walk in which firefighters from the Valley will don full gear and oxygen tanks and walk laps. The last firefighter to run out of air in the tank wins.
The Ytown Syndicate will perform before and after the Luminaria — the emotional candle-lighting ceremony that honors cancer survivors, those with cancer and those that have died.
“We’re showing a video of [Carol] before our last song on our first set,” Ross said.
Although that song’s lyrics deal with familial communication, he believes the overall theme of not giving up will relate to those with cancer today.
“The emotional movement of the music is what we’re looking for,” Ross said. “It’s the biggest show we’ll ever do.”