Clinton County held it’s annual Relay for Life event Saturday night and had a huge turnout by raising a total of $70,721.83 for the year.

Relay for Life Chair-person Renee Parrigin, told the Clinton County News one of their goals for the year was to have 50 people stay the entire night. At 5 a.m. on Sunday morning, there were more than 60 people in attendance.

“I think this is the first time since the first couple of years of having the event that people stayed the entire night,” Parrigin said. “That was a goal that we set at the end of last year … Getting people to stay the entire night and getting back to what Relay is all about. It was one of those things where we thought we would have that goal for a couple of years before we met it, but that wasn’t the case.”

Parrigin said when the night came to a close, at least one member of every team were represented all night long.

“I heard some people say this was the most fun Relay we’ve been to in a long time,” Parrigin said. “We didn’t get to everything that was on the schedule, but we were entertained. We were just having a good time and that’s the goal.”

Parrigin said her first year as captain of the event was a good one. She said she felt very prepared on Friday, a little stressed on Saturday, but once the event was underway she was excited about the turnout for the event.

“Saturday about 5 p.m. I was stressing,” Parrigin said. “But it went good. Our goal now for this upcoming year is to get survivors. That is why we Relay.”

This year, the Relay for Life had more than 20 survivors on hand to celebrate life and walk with the victory of knowing they have beat cancer.

“We had new faces this year. Some that I’ve never seen before. We are getting new ones, but we want to get more,” Parrigin said.

This year’s event saw another first in its history in Clinton County. The event was held on Saturday night through Sunday morning. Typically the Relay for Life event is held on Friday night and continued on until Saturday morning. Parrigin thinks having the event on Saturday gives teams more time to set up their booths and promotes more involvement with the community.

“When I was captain at the ECC, it never felt like you got set up,” Parrigin said. “You were just so rushed before. I can’t say anything negative about Relay this year.”

This year’s event saw nine teams participate including, Albany Elementary School, Amphyss Healthcare Solutions, Signature Healthcare, Clinton County Early Childhood Center, Clinton County Hospital, Equity Group, First & Farmers National Bank, Albany First Baptist and Somerset Community College.

Other than the team’s raising money for the Relay for Life, several sponsors generously donated other items for the event, including Equity Group, First & Farmers National Bank, Dyer Drug, Boils Construction, Peoples Bank of Albany, Clinton County News, WANY, Robbie Davis/Zija and Stony Point Church.

More than 20 cancer suvivors were on hand Saturday night at the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life event. Above, survivors made the traditional first lap around the track to kick off the event.

Albany First Baptist Church was one of several booths set up at this year’s Relay for Life. The booth sold food and refreshments to raise money for cancer research.