Pinnacle Group Walks for a Cure

The award-winning campsite of Forget Them Nots

What do an insurance group, a design salon, a garage sale and a ¼-mile track have in common? They're all components of a successful and fun effort to raise money for cancer research.

The Pinnacle Group, in cooperation with Donner Le Ton, sponsored a team for this year's St. Augustine Relay for Life. Relay for Life is an 18-hour walk-a-thon where individuals and teams raise money by constantly circling a track. That's right - for 18 hours, someone from the Forget Them Nots (the team name) was walking or running on the track at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind.

But, the event was much more than a long walk. The Forget Them Nots raised money before the May 9th event. Members of the team donated items for a community garage sale and manned the Forget Them Nots booth earlier in May. Young members and families got sponsors for the Relay. At the track, team members sold forget-me-not pendants with all proceeds going to the American Cancer Society. One family brought a camper to the night-long event - the perfect place to escape the bugs, grab a hotdog or cool drink.

Best of all was the fellowship shared in a lovely garden. Leila Lohr designed a living space in remembrance of loved lost ones. The garden was lighted through the night by lamps and candles. There was a bench for the weary with a cherub watching in approval as hundreds of participants passed by. The focus of the garden, however, was the flowers. Sprouting from pots of coral blossoms, donated by The Greenery, were wooden daisies with pictures of family and friends lost to cancer, loved ones missed and celebrated with a living memorial. Given all the loving care put into the garden, the Forget Them Nots were happy to accept the prize for Best Theme.

While the cause is serious and the moments of remembrance were solemn, the Relay was an act of hope for life. The Forget Them Nots visited with friends from other teams, played games, entered (and lost) a dozen raffles, ate well, slept poorly, and cheerfully fought off bugs, sweat and fatigue. There was music and dancing. In fact, the team boisterously joined in what may have been St. Augustine's largest line dance - funkin' and groovin' to the Electric Slide and the Macarena.

At the end of the day (Saturday morning, that is), the Forget Them Nots had shared touching memories with friends and family, celebrated as a community and helped raise $2000 to find a cure for cancer.

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