FLASHBACK - July August 2014
Dana & Madison Mayor Troy Trulock
American Cancer Society Honors Survivors Written by Kimberly Ballard
PEOPLE • PLACES • PARTIES
Jack & Deanne Hingel
Barbara Garrison, Leslie & Joe Vallely
Lexie Corder, Halle Koonce, Abbie McKee
Photos by Steve Babin
Some of us didn’t know when we saw Leslie Vallely at the Cancer Survivor’s Dinner on Friday, April 25th that we wouldn’t see her again. She and Denise Reichert were co-winners of the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) 2014 Aaron Smith Continuing the Fight Award presented during the dinner at Mayfair Church of Christ. Leslie was a breast cancer survivor who later fought valiantly against leukemia, only to lose that battle a few weeks later on June 13th. The Survivors Dinner is a precursor to the Relay for Life and an open door to any cancer survivor. Mayfair has thrown open their doors of their church for the dinner, which is catered free by the Texas Roadhouse. They and Nothing Bundt Cakes each donated 500 meals and desserts making the dinner 100 percent free to the Survivors. “The Continuing the Fight award is presented to someone who made a difference with patients while dealing with cancer themselves,” said Kevin Sims, senior manager over ACS North Alabama. “Both Denise and Leslie were currently in treatment. We felt they were equally deserving of the recognition.” Presented by the Center for Cancer Care, the keynote speaker Grant Vosburgh is a cancer survivor from southern Tennessee who served as Division Relay Advisory Team chair, and is a Tennessee Relay volunteer. His involvement in Relay For Life is personal, but he has become an inspiration to all who know him. n
Kevin Sims, Sandi Perkins, Angela & Bradley Turner, Edna Fails, Brandy Davis, Dawn McDonnell
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Laura Hamner, Jill Wilson, Beth Falkenberg, Emily Pauli
Ethan Worcester, Cristina Lynn
Janet & Charles Brinkerhoff
