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A sign that reads "HOPE" shines bright as part of the luminary candles that encircled the track on the second level. Photos by Eileen Tuehy

Southampton - The East End community had rallied together for Saturday afternoon football, for parades, and for fireworks displays. Beginning on Friday, April 24, at the Southampton Town Recreation Center and finishing in the wee hours of the next morning, 570 participants spread across 50 teams danced and laughed and got quite a work out at the first annual South Fork Relay For Life, a fundraising effort to benefit the American Cancer Society. More than anything, together they celebrated those who have won and lost their battles with cancer, and helped raise more than $160,000 for cancer research, awareness and services.

Coordinator Sharon Wood praised the "positive energy" that was felt in the building throughout the night and into the morning.

"There wasn't a negative part of the evening," Relay Coordinator Sharon Wood commented. "People danced, they did the scavenger hunt, musical chairs, line dancing. You'd look up and see families walking together, a mom and dad and kids, you see friends walking together. Some of them dressed up. Everyone was talking and laughing. It was really amazing."

As of Sunday, the South Fork Relay had drummed up just shy of $166,000 worth of donations for the Suffolk County chapter of the American Cancer Society. That total won't be finalized until August when the next Relay cycle begins. The money generated will fund cancer research and awareness and help back the New York City-based Hope Lodge, where cancer patients who are receiving treatment in the city can stay at no charge. The ACS is also a local charity that supports research at local hospitals; in December it awarded an $850,000, four-year grant to Valentina Schmidt, an assistant professor at Stony Brook University Medical Center, to study the role of a novel tumor suppressor gene in liver carcinogenesis.

"On behalf of the American Cancer Society, I'm so honored and privileged to have the opportunity to work with such a caring community as the South Fork," said Diane Nicholson, ACS' community executive for the East End of Long Island. "We had teams from East Hampton all the way to Westhampton showing support in the fight against cancer. It affects all of us, and I'm really moved and amazed at how the community pulled together."

The Relay officially kicked off at 6 p.m. Friday with the Survivor Reception, which was coordinated by Bridgehampton's Carol Kalish, herself a breast cancer survivor. The Presbyterian Bell Choir played at the reception and Sag Harbor's John Ali sang the national anthem. The opening ceremony began at 7 p.m. and was attended by New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele and Congressman Tim Bishop, as well as Bridgehampton National Bank President Kevin O'Connor and SYS President Mark Antilety. Maria Metzger, a biology teacher at Southampton High, addressed the crowd during the ceremony. Metzger was diagnosed with breast cancer last May and had surgery performed before school closed out in June. She received her last dose of chemotherapy in October. Metzger's team, Age Doesn't Matter, was made up of family members and students, and serves as a reminder that cancer can strike anyone at anytime.

The CHHatters from East Hampton have raised more than $10,000 for cancer research and awareness to date.

"Maria is so inspirational not only because she's in the first year of her journey but because as a teacher and someone the kids at that age look up to, she's has such a positive attitude," Wood said. "She kicked off the survivor lap, she brought in her family and got the students involved, and it's so great for those kids to see that there's hope. Maria always has a smile on her face and has great determination."

Metzger led the dozens of survivors on the survivor lap, and they were soon joined by their caregivers, who were given white roses. It was then that teams like Spuds and the Tater Tots, Arnie's Flock, Long Island Potato Kweens, P, B & J, and the Cancer Crushers, as well as 45 others, began to circle the track. Through the night, the walkers, at least 130 at a time, racked up miles to go along with the thousands of dollars their raised in support of the cause. While the Relay chugged along past midnight and beyond, attendees shot hoops before or after their turns with the baton, visited other campsites, took part in a scavenger hunt and danced. Boys from the local high schools dressed in drag and stumped for votes in the Miss Relay Contest (won by a Hampton Bays student).

The Harbor Hoofers were the top fundraisers from January through the start of the race, raising nearly $15,000.

The Harbor Hoofers, a team of Sag Harbor community members, were the top fundraisers through the weekend, having raised more than $14,500. Dominique Cummings of Amy's Angels was the top individual with $3,325. Teams like the CHHatters, which was formed by East Hampton-based insurance firm Cook, Hall & Hyde, established and met lofty goals. The Hatters set a goal of $10,000 and with the help of Bowling For Life, a charity tournament held at East Hampton Bowl, surpassed that goal in time for the first lap.

To Wood, it was apropos that SYS once again brought the East End communities together. "All of the kids, starting from the time they're three and four years old, come to the rec center," said Wood, a member of the Kweens. "It's common ground. It's not at the Sag Harbor School District, Southampton, East Hampton or Hampton Bays. They all feel as though it's the place where they can play. It's not only kids but adults as well, including many of the people who donated to SYS to make that building happen. It's such a great place for kids to learn to play soccer and basketball, and this was one more way to use the building."

Fifty teams made up of a grand total of 570 people walked the track at the Rec Center to help fight cancer.

The track runs at about one-seventh of a mile, and Wood estimates that a few walkers topped double digits in miles before the sun rose on Saturday. The entire second-level track was lined with "luminaries," or candles within paper bags personalized to pay homage to those who have suffered from cancer. A luminary ceremony was held at 9:30 p.m. Friday night and was ushered in by a group of bagpipers.

"There was such positive energy that came from all the people, from the energy they put into their fund raising, to the campsites, to the luminary bags that they sold," Wood said. "People were having fun, laughing, going from campsite to campsite and participating in all the activities. It was really great."

The ACS had approached Southampton Youth Services about the prospect of hosting the Relay, which had taken place in Hampton Bays before. Wood, who lost her grandmother, mother, mother-in-law, surrogate mother and grandfather to five different types of cancers, immediately jumped at the opportunity to develop the inaugural Relay.

Coordinator Sharon Wood praised the "positive energy" that was felt in the building throughout the night and into the morning.

"For me, it's very personal to be involved with Relay," she said. "In the process, you're meeting people who are cancer survivors, hearing survivor stories. All the captains of teams, the people participating, they're all involved for personal reasons. Most people have some sort of connection that brought them to Relay."

Before the doors even closed on the inaugural Relay at the rec center, committee members and participants already began brainstorming ideas for the next South Fork Relay. Until cancer is stamped out, events such as Relay, which according to the ACS has brought together 3.5 million people to celebrate, remember and fight back, will take place around the country. Judging by the response from the local communities, the South Fork will be there flexing its fund raising muscles as well.

"I think it's a tribute to how positive the experience and the energy was for everyone," Wood said. "I think everybody felt a part of it. Everybody can relate to cancer unfortunately, and unfortunately there will be new survivors and new reasons to relay."