June 21, 2007

Would you walk for 24 hours to help stamp out cancer?

Teams organize for the first annual Almaden Relay For Life next weekend

The first annual Almaden Relay For Life will be held on June 30. Team members will take turns walking and running around Leland High School’s Pat Tillman Stadium, while camping out, dancing, raising awareness and just plain having fun, over 24 life-enriching hours.

Team Jana members include: Sever family, Melman family, Alongi family, Fleury family, Underwood family, Novak family, Clough family, Lefber family, and the Finch family. Team captain: Leslie Melman.

There’s hardly a person whose life has not been affected by cancer. That’s why events that benefit the American Cancer Society, like Relay For Life, really help change (and save) lives. Relay brings communities together to support cancer research, advocacy and education, while celebrating life and cancer survivorship. Teams are formed from friends, businesses, churches and other organizations. Money raised goes toward the American Cancer Society.

Team Jana
Team Jana is comprised of Almaden Valley parents and children from families that loved Jana Sever and continue to support the Sever family. Throughout Jana’s battle with cancer, her family and friends came to realize how many lives cancer touches each year. The immediate goal for their team is to raise awareness and money necessary to assist the American Cancer Society in their fight against the many forms of this disease.

“We hope our team’s participation in Relay for Life will eventually help all of us in our battle to understand and ultimately eliminate the many forms of cancer that affect people everywhere, but especially in our local community,” says team captain Leslie Melman.

Almaden resident Jana Sever passed away from lung cancer on July 23, 2002 at the young age of 42. Jana and her husband Al had moved to the Almaden area in 1987 where they began raising their two children, Joe and Dana. Their family has always been, and still is, involved in many activities in the local community. Jana had spent her high school years in southern California, and moved to the Bay Area to attend San Jose State while her father, Jack Elway, coached football there. Her twin brother is Denver Broncos Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway.

While attending SJSU, Jana participated on the school’s intercollegiate tennis team. Prior to becoming an elementary school teacher, Jana had taught tennis for several years at facilities within many south bay communities including the Almaden Country Club.

Her teaching career was spent instructing third grade at Almaden’s Williams Elementary School. “Jana was loved by the students, respected by the parents and faculty,” says her husband Al. “She will always be remembered for her infectious laugh.”

Team Grand Prix: From left, Christy Tuminia (captain), Emily Trudeau (co-captain) and Michelle Trudeau (co-captain). Photo by Ted Horsch

Team AP Grand Prix...Racing for a Cure

Team AP Grand Prix...Racing for a Cure began doing Relay for Life five years ago at the Campbell Relay. The team, originally formed from office staff at Advanced Professionals Insurance & Financial Services, has since grown to 21 team members including friends, family, neighbors, and clients, all of whom have been touched by cancer.

“We have had several team members, family and friends who have been diagnosed with different types of cancer including: breast, ovarian, pancreatic, melanoma and brain cancer,” says team captain Christy Tuminia. “Since last year's relay, we have had one team member diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, one pass away from pancreatic cancer, a family member pass away from breast cancer, and a 30-year-old family member diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. These are the people we are relaying for specifically this year, but we do it for all of our loved ones who have been touched by this awful disease.”

AP Grand Prix...Racing for a Cure actively raises funds in the months leading up to Relay. They held a Yankee Candle fund-raiser that brought in over $500, a Round Table Pizza fund-raiser, and this past weekend their annual bocce ball/silent auction fund-raiser at Campo di Bocce in Los Gatos raised $8,000. They also sell "What Cancer Cannot Do" T-shirts for $15, light-up Relay necklaces, and plan to organize a bake sale at Relay for Life of Almaden. This year, an anonymous benefactor has stepped forward with a challenge. If they reach their goal of $20,000, the benefactor will donate an additional $10,000 to the American Cancer Society.

These are just two of the teams that will be participating in the first annual Almaden Relay for Life. If you would like to volunteer, donate or find out how to build a team for Almaden’s American Cancer Society Relay For Life, call (408) 927-8758 or visit www.acsevents.org/relay/ca/Almaden.