Relay for Life planned for Aug. 24 at Fairfield Golf & Country Club

FAIRFIELD – Jefferson County Relay for Life will “Give Cancer the Boot” on Saturday, Aug. 24.

That’s the theme of the group’s Relay for Life, planned for 6-10 p.m. that day at the Fairfield Golf & Country Club. The event is free for cancer survivors and caregivers, and is $20 per person for everyone else. Kids under 5 eat free.

The event will feature a buffet dinner, live music, silent auction, and luminary walk at 9 p.m. Attendees are asked to wear their best “country boots and bling.”

Jefferson County Relay for Life will also raise money by selling Relay for Life T-shirts, 20 oz. tumblers, and quilt raffle tickets. This event is being organized by Lori Schaefer-Weaton. Schaefer-Weaton and her husband Nate Weaton are both cancer survivors, and that’s what motivated them to sponsor the Survivor Meal and all accompanying festivities. That will allow 100 percent of the event’s proceeds to go to the American Cancer Society.

Schaefer-Weaton has not been involved in organizing a Relay for Life before, and now she’s taking the lead on it. She said that her own battle with cancer, and her husband’s, compelled them to get more involved in Relay for Life.

“This cause became very personal and very close to our hearts,” Schaefer-Weaton said. “We wanted to do something locally to give back. Our own Jefferson County Health Center has a chemotherapy wing, and Nate was treated there.”

Schaefer-Weaton had cancer first, and she’s been cancer-free for five years. Nate got it two years after she did. It was not easy for the family with so many things to balance, including their careers and five children.

“Nate was coaching football, so that was very trying for him from an energy perspective,” Schaefer-Weaton said.

Schaefer-Weaton said now is an important time to prioritize cancer research because cancer diagnoses have risen in recent years due to people putting off their regular check-ups during the pandemic.

“People were avoiding doctor’s offices like the plague,” she said, “and mammograms got pushed to the side.”

Schaefer-Weaton said the money raised at the Relay for Life will go toward cancer research, and helping cancer patients with lodging and other expenses they incur while receiving treatment. She said all of the funds will stay local.

“When you’re in treatment, there are a lot of out-of-pocket expenses, like staying in a hotel,” she said. “We have to continue to fund research, and regardless of the type of cancer, we need to make headway so we’re not just treating the symptoms.”

Thus far, 100 people have RSVP’ed to the event, and Schaefer-Weaton is hoping to get to 200. She hopes that the silent auction alone will raise between $5,000-$10,000.

“We think this is going to be fun,” Schaefer-Weaton said. “Cancer is one degree of separation from all of us. We’ll have a great time for a great cause.”

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Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com