13 Years And Still Going Strong

Come to Clinton on Saturday, June 11 for the Clinton Rotary’s Annual Cancer Relief Fund Walk-a-Thon held at the Ethel Peters Recreational Complex, 145 Glenwood Road, adjacent to the Joel Elementary School.

The day will mark the 13th anniversary of the event which begins at noon and concludes at 10pm.

Using the track, concession stand, athletic fields and parking lot at the Peter’s Complex, teams and individuals walk the track and while doing so, enjoy entertainment throughout the day. 

At noon, Clinton’s appointed and elected officials will play softball against the WTNH/News-8 news, sports, weather and traffic anchors and reporters – and their family members - for the fifth year in a row.  News-8's 2011 team will feature sportscaster John Pierson and his four kids along with “Good Morning Connecticut” anchor Chris Velardi, his father and daughter, among others.  Dr. Mel Goldstein, a cancer survivor, will throw out the first pitch.

Clinton’s team will include: Peggy Adler, Gary Bousquet, John Carbone, Vin Cimino, John Critchley, Jack Cross, Bonnie Fillion, Willie Fritz, Will Fritz, A.J. Fritz, Brady Fritz, Larry Ouellette, Kim Neri-Simoncini, Harry Swaun and Lisa Harden as Clown, Karen Marsden as Scorekeeper and Al Peterson as Umpire.

The Clinton Rotary Club seeks Walk-a-Thon sponsors, at donations of $250 to $1,000, or more, whose name and/or logo will be placed on T-shirts. The T-shirts are given to each walking team member, or individual, who donates a registration fee of $10.00.  They are also for sale.   Additional funds are also raised through the sale of luminaries, white paper bags bearing the names of cancer survivors and those who lost their lives to this terrible disease.  The luminaries are $5 each and surround the track.  In the evening, 1,000 or more luminaries are lit and a ceremony is held, paying tribute to all cancer victims.

Every penny of the money raised by the event goes to help cancer victims and their families, from Branford to Niantic, and northward, to Killingworth and Hamden.

Recipients are determined eligible following the submission of an application to the Clinton Rotary Club’s Cancer Relief Committee.  Checks are then sent on their behalf, directly to billing entities (utilities, mortgage payments, taxes, home/auto insurance, etc.)   The fund does not pay hospital or other related medical bills. All proceeds are used for cancer related “in house expenses.”  And no proceeds are used to administer the fund.

So bring the kids.  Come watch the game.  Walk the track.  Enjoy the food and entertainment.  Make a donation.  Bid on a bountiful basket.  And last but definitely, not least – buy a luminary, for $5, in honor or in memory of someone you know/knew with cancer. 

Additional information about the Fund and/or Walk-a-Thon may be obtained by calling Sandy Allen (860-664-1749), Linda Beavers (860-669-9323) Sandy Voss (203) 627-1427 or Jim Beardsley (860-669-7239); or by writing to: Clinton Rotary Cancer Relief Fund, P.O. Box 558, Clinton, Ct., 06413; or at  www.clintonctrotary.com