Otter Tail County event has already raised over $172,000 this year alone

By Tucker Henderson

Reporter

While the busy days of summer brought the summer sunshine and its heat to this area and the chaos of Lund Mania was upon the region, another important event was taking place in Perham as the Relay for Life of Otter Tail County hosted its 33rd annual event on Friday, July 12.

This year’s Relay for Life honored co-chairs Riley Peterson and Taylor Johnson, two local youth who have endured the hardships of a cancer diagnosis. Laurine Braukmann, co-chair of the Survivor’s Dinner event and member of the New York Mills Dream Team, said that this year’s Relay for Life went very well.

“There was kind of a lively spirit this year because we honored and focused on kids so the whole climate of it was uplifting, it always is, but it was even more so with the kids and the Dr. Seuss theme,” said Braukmann. “During the team laps people were dressed as characters and they had Dr. Seuss hats, so it was really fun. It was a really fun event.”

Braukmann said that there were over 80 survivors that participated in the survivor lap at the track. Many of those survivors had been present at the Survivor’s Dinner the night before at the Perham Lakeside Event Center where 84 survivors and 120 others came together to hear about the American Cancer Society, enjoy door prizes, a speaker and a meal together as well as just enjoy the camaraderie of the evening.

“The fellowship and support you get from being with other people that have survived what you have gone through is very heartwarming, very touching,” said Braukmann. “It just gives you strength and courage. You get to meet people that otherwise you would have never had the chance to get to know. That’s really a fun event. It’s a great way to meet some new people and feel that camaraderie that you have.”

The Mills Dream Team was the top raising team of all 22 teams in the Relay this year. They raised a total of $28,151 between the 24 member team. The Relay for Life raised a total of $172,305 this year and still counting as donations are accepted until the end of August. There will be one more fundraising event which they hope will help fulfill their planning committee’s goal of $185,000 for the year.

“I think we’ll make it,” said Braukmann. “I get calls once in a while, ‘can we still donate?’ Yes, you can! This has been going on since 1991 and since then, we’ve raised 3.43 billion dollars for research.”

Braukmann said that as a breast cancer survivor, it was the research and advancement in treatment that saved her life. While there may not be a cure-all for every type of cancer, the funds raised during the Relay for Life go towards helping people through the process as well as research to continue to advance treatment possibilities and save lives.

“In treatment, in healing people and getting people to remission and curing people is amazing,” said Braukmann of the big-picture impact of the Relay’s efforts. “I’ve been cured and it’s because of the research. Years ago when you got a diagnosis like that, it was pretty grim. You knew it wasn’t going to be a good result.”

Braukmann said that in 2023 there were 360,000 calls and chats between patients and caregivers to the American Cancer Society and 769,000 people benefited from their transportation program.

“Just think about all the good things that program does, it’s just amazing,” Braukmann said. “The lives that we save through research, all the questions we get answered, all the help we can get people. Hope Lodge is one where people going through treatments can stay there free of charge. We’ve had people from Mills use it, we’ve had several from Perham that have used it and spoken about it. It’s a really nice service.”

One highlight of the Relay for Life this year for Braukmann was the speeches given by the two honorary co-chairs, Riley Peterson and Taylor Johnson.

“Riley did a fabulous job in her speech, it was so good. She put her heart and soul into it, so that was really good to hear,” she said. “Taylor also spoke, she’s a little bit younger, but her speech was also well received.”

One of the annual traditions at the Relay for Life is to light luminaries in honor and memory of those who have survived cancer and those who weren’t so lucky.

“They light all those luminaries and you just stand in awe of all the warmth and support and all the lives that have been touched by this, it’s just amazing,” said Braukmann. “In the bleachers we spell out the word ‘hope’ in luminaria and they’re all lit up. It’s just so nice.”

Braukmann especially enjoys the dove release each year as well as the Survivor’s Dinner which she co-chairs.

“I love the dove release, the names that the doves are given in honor of or in memory of, it’s just so moving,” she said. “They do one basket at a time and the doves fly and they come back and circle around and then they go off into the sunset.”

She also mentioned that for those who have never attended the Relay for Life, it’s a great event to attend with a plethora of activities including a bouncy house for the kids this year, lots of food and fellowship.

“There’s good food,” she said, “Arvig was selling ribs, Jennie-O Turkey on a bun, baked potato bar, fry bread, malts, cheese cakes, pizza, everything you can imagine. We had bouncy houses this year for the kids, lots of activity going on all night. They serve breakfast all night. Some people walk all night long until six in the morning. Their premise is ‘we walk through the night because cancer never stops.’”

The Mills Dream Team is always welcoming new members to join or to volunteer in any way they can. Those interested should contact Laurine Braukmann, Jan Parta, or KayAnn Kahilainen to learn more.