To the Editor,

The Otter Tail County Relay for Life is completed for the 2025 year. All the hard work, planning and preparations are completed and discussed. We will make some changes for the next Relay, but overall it was a very successful event.

There are many of you that we would like to thank for all your dedication and hard work put forth to make this such a success.

Our Event Leadership Team is a hardworking group of people from the New York Mills/Perham/Dent area who are committed to facilitating activities for our Relay. Thank you to our Mills Dream Team Co-Chairs Jan Parta and KayAnn Kahilainen. These women are so good at keeping our team members informed as to what is needed, when and where. They keep us going! And a huge thank you to all who were able to attend the Relay and take part in the festivities, the businesses and individuals who supported our efforts with a donation, and anyone who helped in any way. They add so much color to the streets.

Thank you also to Lisa Preuss who is the co-chair with me on the Survivor Events. A great person with which to share ideas, voice concerns and make decisions. Thank you to Missy Mickelson who every year helps us compile and send out hundreds of invitations to the Survivor Dinner. Lastly, a huge thank you to the city maintenance workers who so kindly place our purple flags up high on the lampposts around town. It makes our streets look so festive!

One disappointing thing that happened is some individual/s removed and have not returned our huge ground sail flags that were displayed at the south corner of Highway 67 and Centennial Drive. On the Sunday night before the Relay our Dream Team meets on Main Street and places purple pennant banners, purple ribbons, and huge purple sail flags on Main Street and Centennial Drive. The following Sunday we take those items down. However, this year the huge sail flags and the hardware tubing were gone. If anyone has them or knowns who might have taken them from that location please contact me or our team captains.

Thank you again for all you who help with this project in any way. When we work together we can and do make a difference in people’s lives!

Laurine Braukmann

ELT Survivor Co-Chair