Warren Relay kicks off tonight with 1,000 cancer survivors

WARREN

More than 1,000 people formed on East Market Street Friday evening by the Trumbull County Courthouse—all of them with one special bond. They are cancer survivors.

“I think the good Lord is watching over us,” said Craig Germentz, 75, of Southington, cancer-free for four years.

“Cancer is no picnic,” read the sweatshirt worn by Fran Steffey of Niles, who has been free of lung cancer for 11 years. Her 72-year-old father Barry Steffey of Howland is an 11-year survivor of melanoma.

Also marching with the survivors – state Rep. Michael O’Brien of Warren. “I had bone cancer when I was 11, and I’ve been cancer-free for 50 years,” O’Brien said.

The survivors say they are proof cancer can be beaten, which is the point of Warren’s annual Relay for Life, which began Friday evening. Fifty teams of various sizes, clad in special T-shirts, will canvass the Warren area for pledges, some for 24 hours, until the relay officially ends at 6 p.m. today.

“You are among the largest relay events in the state of Ohio,” said Kelly Stevens of HOT 101, who along with broadcasting partner A.C. McCullough hosted the kick-off.

“Last year, we raised around $286,000, and this year, we’re hoping for $288,000,” said Phil O’Hara of Howland, who has been the lead chair of the event the last two years.

Read more about the event in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.