Lanell Coln addresses Relay for Life organizers as the Hero of Hope speaker for this year’s local kickoff event, Thursday.

This year’s Relay for Life, the American Cancer Society’s annual sponsored fundraiser to raise money and awareness, kicked off Thursday with an organizational meeting that focused on seeking out new participants, recognizing past contributors — and honoring survivors.

This year’s meeting saw organizers handing out awards for achievers at last year’s Relay, and featured an inspirational address from survivor Lanell Coln, the event’s Hero of Hope speaker.

Assuring a broad base of community support for the local event, now in its 26th year, is as vital as ever, with organizers encouraging businesses, individuals, and churches to pitch their support toward an organization with a proven fundraising track record and a mission that, at some point, touches the lives of nearly everyone.

The local theme for this year’s event is “Bring Home a Cure,” and anyone interested in learning more about the event, as well as in offering their support or forming a Relay team, can contact Helen Allen at 256-709-4019 or at helen@weltimail.com, and can visit relayforlife.org/cullmanal to register a team online.

The next step in this year’s runup to the Relay walk is a series of team spirit meetings, scheduled at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 7, March 7, April 4, and April 18 at First Baptist Church in Cullman. The annual Survivors Breakfast will be held at 7 a.m. on May 1 at the Cullman Church of Christ.

The Relay’s signature event, the 2019 Cullman County Relay for Life, will be held Friday, May 3 from 6 p.m. until midnight at the Cullman County Fairgrounds.