A day for giving

The first Relay for Life in Newport Beach will begin at 7 p.m. May 17.

The 24-hour event will raise money for the American Cancer Society. Teams

of five to 20 runners or walkers will camp out and circle Newport Harbor

High School’s stadium to raise awareness for the various forms of cancers

and to remember loved ones.

About half the proceeds from the event will be given locally to groups

such as Hoag Hospital and UC Irvine for research.

On Thursday, City Editor James Meier sat down with the event’s

organizer, Peggy Fort, and co-chairman, Newport Beach City Manager Homer

Bludau.

Q: What brought about the first Relay for Life event here in Newport

Beach?

HB: I attended a Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce breakfast last

November and, there, I met Trina Jonas, who works for the American Cancer

Society. I introduced myself as working for the city, and she said she

had intended to meet me because she wanted to talk about this new event,

Relay for Life.

So, based on that brief conversation, I set up a meeting with her. I

brought Councilman Steve Bromberg in on the conversation, and I think we

both got very excited about what we heard about Relay for Life -- that it

was done all over the country in various cities and communities.

And I had also read in my little local newspaper back in Texas that I

still get that the little community in which I grew up with 3,500 raised

$40,000 last year for Relay for Life. I read about that and really didn’t

know what the event was but marveled at what a great response from that

small community it was for that event. So, it kind of piqued my interest

when I first talked to Trina.

PF: It’s actually an event that is in more than 3,000 communities

worldwide, and it’s the signature fund-raising event of the American

Cancer Society, so it’s the first event here in Newport Beach, but it’s a

very successful fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society. There’s 12

in Orange County this year alone.

Q: Are they spread out enough so that this one doesn’t coincide any

time close to another one?

HB: They really want to have them eventually in every city because the

intent is -- like this is a Newport Beach event -- that it really be

focused in the community in which it’s held as opposed to being a

regional event. So, I think over time, they want there to be hopefully 34

events in Orange County.

PF: They are spread out. I believe Irvine’s is [this month]. So, it

really varies on which event we’re talking about.

HB: I think the local committee that organizes each event basically

decides when they feel like it’s the best time of the year to have it.

Q: Do either of you have goals set for how much you would like this

first event to raise?

HB: I think, since this is our first event, we are concentrating on

trying to get as much participation as possible. Participation, first of

all, in teams and the number of people involved in the teams -- that is

going to be our measure of success as opposed to money, because we feel

like if we can really get people involved that they will get other people

involved, so next year we can really grow this event into a major event

in Newport Beach in just a few years. So that’s our key concentration

right now.

Q: Is yours based on any particular model?

HB: The American Cancer Society has a basic model. There are some

things that are the same for every event across the country. You start

off with a survivors’ lap, then there’s a luminaria event and, of course,

the event is 24 hours. Then there’s also booths for wellness and cancer

awareness.

PF: Basically, they’ve provided us an outline that’s been successful

in other communities and so, through maybe just personalizing it a little

bit for our city and getting a little more involvement at the local

level, we’ve stuck pretty closely to the American Cancer Society

structure.

HB: They’re fun events, and what I think happens during the 24-hour

period, along with walking around the track, is really for the committee

to decide what they’re going to do, cake walks or whatever.

PF: That’s part of what we’re really trying to encourage is how fun

this event really can be and is all for a good cause. In a lot of ways,

it is a vigil that honors cancer survivors and people that are battling

the disease, but it’s also kind of a party atmosphere and an all-around

good time with the different community involvement and booths and teams.

Q: How’s it going so far, in terms of involvement?

HB: I think we’re very enthusiastic. We had a committee meeting Monday

night, and we have 25 teams that have signed up and paid their money.

PF: Plus a lot more that have expressed interest. You know, it’s a

commitment. It’s not signing up for a 5K or 10K run. This is a 24-hour

team walking event in which someone has to be kind of officially named

the team captain and organize their friends and family and company

co-workers to join their team and really try to encourage participation

from their team members. You know, pitching tents and kind of creating

maybe a theme or a T-shirt and coming up with creative ways to also

generate additional funds. There’s incentive prizes and fun ways to get

the team members involved. So it’s more than just going to a 5K run and

being done in an hour or two.

HB: Because we think a lot of the teams will be there the whole 24

hours even though just one member of the team is walking. They’ll be

pitching tents, they’re going to be spending the night there.

PF: And putting together a schedule for when people need to show up.

Interestingly enough, we’ve gotten a lot of support from different

organizations: the Newport Beach Restaurant Assn. is going to be doing a

food booth; the Fire Department is going to have two different

interactive booths for children; there’s going to be entertainment;

Starbucks is going to be there with coffee.

So we really haven’t stressed sponsorship, but indirectly we’ve gotten

a lot of in-kind support and, you know, at some point, when this event

does mature into a larger event, sponsorship will follow. But, again,

that’s not what we’re stressing. It’s 100% community driven and all the

money goes to the American Cancer Society.

HB: Like I said, we have 25 teams signed up now, and it looks like

we’ll probably have another 10 more, and Trina is very pleased with that

number of teams for a first-year event. She feels like that’s

outstanding.

PF: You know, some Relays have had four or five teams their first

year.

Q: Is there any limit to the size that this event can grow to this

year?

HB: Not really. The teams are encouraged not to go over 20 members per

team. There’s plenty of room at Newport Harbor High, where we’re having

the event, and it’s not going to be on the football field but on the

practice field, so there’s plenty of room out there for anything that we

can need.

It’s really a good venue and the Newport-Mesa Unified School District

has worked very, very well with us. We’re very thankful for their

support.

Q: Have either of you been in one of these events before?

HB: I have not.

PF: First year.

Q: So why did you, Peggy, get involved in this event?

PF: I got involved in the event because I know that cancer has touched

my life. Basically, my mom is a cancer survivor, and I worked at the

Newport Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau for five years and worked

alongside Rosalind Williams as she was battling and, unfortunately, lost

her battle with cancer. So, that really had an impact on my life.

So, I think that that, and plus I’m very health-conscious and love to

exercise and want to promote wellness, I think I have a personal reason.

Plus, I think it’s just a great way to promote awareness and to get

participation for a good cause in the community.

Q: And I understand you’ve lost someone as well.

HB: I lost my father to lung cancer in 1994. My mother is a cancer

survivor also. When I first talked to Trina, I wasn’t thinking about

co-chairing this event, but I wanted to help in some way, and it kind of

grew into, the more I heard about it, the more I wanted to participate.

It’s kind of a way of remembering my father.

Q: Is everything prepared? Are you guys ready for May 17?

HB: The 17th and 18th. No, everything isn’t prepared, and that’s one

of the exciting things about putting this together for a first-time

event. We’re really not sure what it’s going to look like, and that’s

part of the excitement.

PF: That is part of the excitement. We’ve gotten such great

involvement at our committee level. We’ve got some wonderful people

involved. Pat Smith is co-chairing the event with Homer. Then we have a

number of committee chairs that have really been doing a fantastic job.

It’s really starting to gain a lot of enthusiasm and momentum as we get

closer to the event.

HB: We’re still putting together the entertainment. There’s an

entertainment committee, and they’re gathering bands. Anyone who wants to

participate by providing entertainment, we would be willing to give them

an opportunity to surprise us.

So, we have all of these committees, and it’s like a mosaic putting

together this event. It’s really going to be a lot of fun. And I’m sure

it won’t be as smooth in every area as we would like, but I think that’s

going to be part of the fun of doing it for the first time.

Then, there’s also going to be some very moving aspects of it, too, as

far as the survivor lap and the luminaria event from everything that I’ve

seen as far as films of other events. It’s a very moving event, so I

think there’s going to be a lot of emotion at the event, a lot of fun, a

lot of reflection and really a lot of celebration, too, in the 24 hours.

PF: Yeah, in addition to participation from the teams, community

members can purchase luminaria candles, which are in honor or in memory

loved ones that have been touched by cancer. They are $10 each, and we

have this goal of having the whole stadium lit up. The ceremony takes

place around 9:30 p.m., and then it lights the way for walkers throughout

the night. Barbara Sloate is heading up that.

HB: So people who can’t attend the event can still participate by

buying luminarias.

Q: Any final thoughts?

HB: The team entry fee is $150 for up to 20 people. A lot of people

are bringing tents so they can spend the night. Some may even sleep some

of the time. But there will be events planned for the whole 24 hours if

people want to stay awake and participate. There will be something for

everybody.

There are a few major sponsors, and I would hate to leave them out.

Roger’s Gardens has provided $1,000.

PF: Yeah, Roger’s Gardens has really stepped up to the plate. The

restaurant association again is going to be donating food for the 24

hours and will have a team. As far as corporate, Fletcher Jones

Motorcars, Starbucks, Brookhurst Printers and a number of in-kind

donations too numerous to mention.

HB: Then we’re going to have a Bank Night at 6 to 8 p.m. May 13 at the

California National Bank, 1301 Dove St. That’s when all the teams will be

coming in to try to raise more money by selling luminaria. So, this is

when it’s all going to come together as the donations are going to be

given to the banker.

BIOS

Name: Peggy Fort

Age: 36

Residence: Balboa Peninsula; Newport Beach since 1984

Occupation: President of California Marketing Concepts

Education: Bachelor’s degree in communication/public relations from

Chico State University

Family: Single

Community Involvement: Relay for Life

Hobbies: Running, snowboarding and going to the beach

Name: Homer Bludau

Age: 56

Residence: Eastbluff for three years

Occupation: City manager

Education: Bachelor’s degree in local government from Southwest Texas

State University, master’s degree in urban planning and public

administration from University of Arizona

Family: Single; children Brad and Aimee

Hobbies: Nature walks in Back Bay, biking, kayaking, reading and

attending sporting events