LUMBERTON — If one person could be called a living reminder of the importance of the annual Robeson County Relay for Life, it is Barbara Walters.

The Red Springs resident also is one of the event’s most ardent supporters,

“I am a 21-year survivor,” said Walters, 69, as she sat beneath one of the many tents at the Robeson County Fairgrounds, where the 23rd annual Relay for Life took place for 24 straight hours Friday and Saturday.

Walters is a survivor of breast cancer, the second deadliest type of the disease, killing about 200,000 people a year. For 21 years she has been taking part in the annual event to raise money to help find a cure for cancer, during which the event has raised about $2.5 million.

And her reason is simple.

“You want to be a part of it. As a survivor you want to support it,” she said.

Friends got her interested in participating in the event, particularly friends from her church, Westside Baptist Church in Red Springs. The church fielded a team of walkers at this year’s relay, as it has for many years.

“I’ve been a captain for four years,” she said.

She also has been a member of other relay teams. One was a team from Southeastern Hospice and another was the Red Springs Chamber of Commerce team.

Between taking laps around the track Friday and Saturday Walters manned her team’s tent where items such as crochet towels, pins, computer mouse pads and bracelets, all adorned with pink and purple ribbons and other emblems of the fight against cancer, were sold. Proceeds benefited the fight against cancer

She fully intended to stay the full 24 hours of the event.

“I always spend the night here,” Walters said on Friday afternoon.

And she did. And she will keep coming back to help find a cure so children won’t suffer from the disease, she said.

Her husband, Claude, helped her during her own fight with cancer. He was a source of comfort and strength. The Vietnam War veteran died of a heart attack eight years ago at the age of 62.

A song also helped her.

“The song ‘One Day at a Time,’” Walters said. “That was my and my husband’s favorite song at the time.”

Walters was there Saturday as the relay wound down. She was helping pack up unsold items and break down her team’s tent.

“It was OK, but there weren’t a lot of people here,” Walters said of the relay.

Usually the track is packed with people walking, she said.

Organizers have said this year’s event lacked the participation of previous years, and they point to Hurricane Matthew and the ongoing recovery from its devastating flooding as the reason why. But they are optimistic that the event’s goal of raising $160,000 will be met as that effort that continues beyond the relay itself..

Some of the teams normally at the event decided not to participate this year, and Walters; team didn’t have as many members this year as in past years.

“Our team debated not coming,” Walters said.

“Attendance was down, but the turnout was fantastic for our services,” said Amanda Smith, one of the relay’s organizers.

The goal was to have 65 teams, she said, and 54 turned out.

Many people participated in the ceremonies held to pay homage to cancer survivors and their caretakers, she said. And there were other positive aspects.

“The entertainment was awesome,” Smith said.

There was no trouble at the Relay, thanks to the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office, she said.

“We had no problems with security,” Smith said

“The Sheriff’s Office was awesome,” said Lisa Hendren, another relay organizer.

Deputies kept watch over the participants. And the Sheriff’s Office parked a Mobile Command Center at the relay.

“Only this year it’s the luminary bus,” Hendren said with laugh.

Hendren and her helpers were in the Command Center on Friday putting together the 1,527 luminaries that lined the walking track. They were reminders of how deadly cancer is, killing 600,000 Americans a year, which only trails heart disease.

The event did take in about $16,000 during its 24-hour run, Smith said.

“We do have quite a bit of money that comes in after the event,” Smith said.

Barbara Walters, a cancer survivor, has been participating in the Robeson County Relay for Life for 21 years. She is a survivor of breat cancer, which kills 200,000 Americans a year.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_Barbara-Walters_1-3.jpgBarbara Walters, a cancer survivor, has been participating in the Robeson County Relay for Life for 21 years. She is a survivor of breat cancer, which kills 200,000 Americans a year.

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T.C. Hunter

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T.C. Hunter can be reached at 910-816-1974.