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Participant donates quilt to benefit Liberty Relay of Life
liberty relay | Schedule and more
Liberty Relay for Life is planned from 6 p.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Saturday at Church Hill Park, located on the west side of Route 193, just south of Route 304. It is the 10th year for the event. Teams will line up at 5:45 p.m. Friday, and the opening ceremony and survivor lap will be at 6.
Highlights: Luminaria ceremony on the creek at 9 p.m. Friday and on Saturday, scavenger hunt at 1 a.m., children’s games at
11 a.m., Western lap with Warren G. Harding Drill and Step Team at 1:30 p.m. and closing ceremony and lap at 5:30 p.m. followed by awards presentation.
Entertainment: On Friday, McDonald High School band plays at 6:30 p.m., ROCcK Children’s Choir (Raising Our Commitment to cancer Kids) at 8 p.m. and First Degree Band at 10:30 p.m.; and Saturday, TMH Choir at 10 a.m., Band of Brothers at 11 a.m., Billy Danes at 1 p.m. and survivor giveaway at 3p.m.
By LINDA M. LINONIS
LIBERTY
Judith “Judie” Johnson promised to “walk as much I can” in the Liberty Relay for Life that begins at 6 p.m. Friday and ends with an awards presentation at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in Churchill Park.
The Youngstown woman has had a total right-knee replacement and has survived cancer twice.
Johnson already has made a beautiful contribution to the event; she made a quilt of T-shirts from past Liberty relays that will be raffled. Tickets for the quilt are $5 each or six for $20.
Some would tell her to sit back and relax but that’s not her style. She’ll graduate this month with an accounting degree from National College, where she also is studying medical assisting. Johnson also works two days a week, DJ’s twice a month and “loves” to karaoke.
The former teacher in Cleveland said she became interested in quilting after a trip to Charleston, S.C., where she saw antique quilts made by African- Americans. The quilts were more than fabric works of art; they were messages for runaway slaves concealed in knots and designs. She created the Relay for Life quilt with squares cut from T-shirts from previous relays then added a border and sashing.
Johnson got involved in the Liberty relay a couple of years ago while attending National College. The event to help fight cancer appealed to her. Some 33 years ago, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She credited her fast-acting doctor with suggesting surgery.
About a dozen years ago, she was diagnosed with Stage One breast cancer and was treated. Johnson’s advice to cancer patients and survivors is simply, “Don’t give up hope.” She said her first battle with cancer was very private. “Back then, people didn’t talk about it ... cancer was like having leprosy,” she said. These days, she said, “family and friends are so important.”
Johnson also urged everyone to have annual medical exams and do self-exams. “Early diagnosis is vital,” she said.
June Smallwood, parks and special-projects director in Liberty Township, said Relay for Life involves teams from the township, Girard, and Hubbard. About 25 teams will participate.
At the park, relay participants walk the parking lot and surrounding area. Smallwood said the luminaria ceremony at 9 p.m. today “is poignant and moving” to remember survivors and those who have died.