By David Rosen

*Update as of 3:56 pm*
Total money raised for Relay for Life is $46,246.55

David Cox's individual money raised for the event $7,755 and $12,650 for his team.

The 11th annual West Seattle Relay for Life took place at West Seattle Stadium June 10 and went through the evening until 6:00 am June 11. Over 26 different teams signed up to walk at the event and over 240 people came to support or walk for loved ones who are or have been affected by cancer.

Event Chair Jilyan Perry had a surprise prior to the event. "My mother Fritz Perry, showed up at my work on Wednesday, completely unannounced. I had no idea she was coming all the way from Boston, Massachusetts. She's a cancer survivor."

Perry was also pleased to share, "My brother is here and they have a camp site and a team, Team Spitfire."

The most successful fundraiser for West Seattle Relay for life was David Cox, who is a caregiver now in his tenth year of participation. Sadly, his wife passed away earlier this year. "I've been here at West Seattle for nine of those ten years," he said, "I've been top fundraiser for the sixth year now. I've raised $6800 this year so far. I don't think I'm done yet though. This has been the best year for fundraising. I think a lot of people have reacted to my wife's death, and wanted to support me more." Cox himself has an artificial knee so his own walking is limited.

Cox has been participating in the West Seattle Relay for Life since it first started. He said “ I starting doing the event in 2001 because of an email that I got from a co-worker who said that she was on the organizing committee (...) this neat thing called relay for life and did anybody want to be on a relay team. So I wound up on a team with 13 women and that’s going to be for life and that’s why I’m the wannabe, that’s my team name. I started doing relay because cancer is just something that I have always hated, I feel sort of a personal affront with the whole idea and I had some people in my life that had been affected by it, I had an aunt who had passed away from cancer, I had a godfather who had gone from cancer, and then I started doing the event and my mother was diagnosed with cancer which she eventually years later died of. Many people came along and just every year there was more and more reason why I needed to come out here and do this and I needed to come out and raise funds. I managed to convince a lot of other people that it was important and that they would want to support me and I got it down to the point where I send out one email every year, that’s all I do, I do a lot of follow-up for my fundraising, but that’s how I have been top fundraiser here because of one email I send out every year and I have a lot of really really good friends and family that support me. This year I think I have close to 60 people supporting me so its become something that I just really have to do every year, I think about it every year no matter how busy I am, relay just has to be, I have to come out here with my team and I have to do this event and I have to raise the money for the American Cancer Society, its just really important to me.”

If you'd like to support David in future fundraising (or just thank him for his good work) his email address is davidcox@seanet.com.

The Seattle Civic Dance Theater (coached and trained by Jilyan Perry) also performed at the event, in addition to helping raise money. You can learn more about them at their website www.seattlecivicdance.com

Troy and Elba who participated in tonight’s event said “ Were out here to support all of the good people here who had lost their family members and loved ones, and just to show our support, Keeping the awareness alive of all people that we never know how long were going to have somebody in our lives and this isn’t something that anyone chooses its just fate, its destiny, and its tragic.”