Numerous tents and tables dotted the youth football field the night of Relay, including Be The Match Registry, Lily’s Chocolate Factory and This Is Bliss LLC.

Leukemia survivor Clint Cleckler led the Be The Match bone marrow donor registry drive and secured about 10 donors this year.

Marrow donors are needed to save the lives of patients with leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell anemia and other blood cancers or autoimmune diseases.

“This all started off with my diagnosis of leukemia,” Cleckler said. “After being in that world, knowing everything about it, I’m able to pay forward what others gave to me last year by doing bone marrow drives. This is a last-ditch effort but also one of the most curative measures in the cancer world.”

Anyone interested in hosting a bone marrow drive in honor of a loved one, a friend or for a philanthropic mission can contact Clint at (205) 389-3577, ClintonCleckler@gmail.com or at Facebook.com/LifeGiverBMT.

Lily’s Chocolate Factory was held once again in honor of six-year-old Lily Porter, who will celebrate her fifth year of being cancer-free this year.

Porter was diagnosed with brain cancer when she was 10 months old. She is the daughter of Ricky and Julie Porter and is in kindergarten at Isabella.

Proceeds from chocolate treat sales at Lily’s Chocolate Factory benefitted Relay For Life.

Sharon Russell of This Is Bliss and her team were accepting last-minute donations before holding a drawing for a gift certificate to the therapeutic massage and spa center in Clanton.

“I’m wearing two shirts—a committee member and also a team leader,” Russell said. “Pretty much all of us have one reason or another that we’ve all been touched by cancer. Our goal was to make it a successful and fun event for everyone. It’s an event that brings the community together.”

The following awards were presented at Relay:

•Spirit of Relay Certificates Special Recognition: Spirit of Relay Campsite – Team Southern Care Hospice (Captains Tammy Noah and Mara Tierce); Spirit of Relay Team – Team Mineral Springs Baptist Church (Captains Debbie Vinzant and Nancy Sewell) and Cure Crusaders (Captain Jessica Fulmer); Spirit of Relay T-shirt – Team Crowns For A Cure (Captain Darian Green); Spirit of Relay Youth Team – Team Youth Fighting Cancer (Captain Cade Williams); Spirit of Relay Paint Chilton Purple – Team Gentiva Home Health and Hospice (Captain Diane Headley); Spirit of Relay Top Online Fundraising Individual – Rachella Mahon of Team Clanton Church of Christ, $290; Spirit of Relay Top Online Fundraising Team – Georgia Pacific, $1,500.

•2013 Chilton County Relay For Life Awards (trophies): Relay Idol Competition ($100 cash prize awarded by the CCHS SGA) – Hannah Tierce; Top Fundraising Church Team – Team Mineral Springs Baptist Church (Captains Debbie Vinzant and Nancy Sewell), $7,120.38; Top Fundraising Organization – Team Chilton County Sheriff’s Department and Communications Center (Captain Jennifer Bland), $2,593;

Overall Spirit for Relay – Lime Springs Methodist Church and Youth Teams (Captains Barbara Petty and Hollie Connell), $6,268.86 and $332.06; Top Fundraising Business Team – Team Peoples Southern Bank (Captain Hailey Ivey), $4,500; Top Fundraising School Team – Team Isabella High School (Captain Christie Payne), $6,600; Top Fundraising New Team – Team Walmart (Captain Melinda White), $1,474.46; Top Overall Fundraising Team – Team Mineral Springs Baptist Church (Captains Debbie Vinzant and Nancy Sewell), $7,120.38.

“Again, I would like to extend ‘thank you’ a million times over to the wonderful people of Chilton County for their support of Relay For Life,” Eiland said. “I forever hope they realize what a difference they make in helping eliminate the ‘c’ word. May we never stop fighting until they find a cure.”