The Spirit of Relay Awards 2021
To all the fearless fighters, hope enablers, community mobilizers, and big dreamers who embody the very essence of the Relay For Life movement, it’s time to celebrate you!
The Spirit of Relay Awards seek to honor and recognize all those who have gone above and beyond to help the American Cancer Society lead the fight for a world without cancer through the Relay For Life movement. From engaging survivors or an entire school community to promoting your event or creating an event experience to remember, our individual victories will collectively translate to the ultimate victory of beating our biggest rival – cancer.
We present Spirit of Relay Awards in two categories: nomination-based (from the Regions and called the Pat Flynn Spirit of Relay Awards) and data-determined.
THE PAT FLYNN SPIRIT OF RELAY AWARDS
Meet all Pat Flynn Spirit of Relay Winners
The Pat Flynn Spirit of Relay Awards are intended to honor and recognize a community/individual that embodies the same spirit of Relay that the “Mother of Relay” – Pat Flynn – inspired in Relay participants around the world.
Awards will be submitted by the Region leadership volunteers and staff. Relay events will be notified by the Area or Region if they are nominated. Regions nominate on an area level and designate two winners for the region award (1 for an event, 1 for a team/individual). The 14 regional winners (1 campus/community/event and 1 team/individual for each of the six regions and Unified Event Support (UES) will be submitted to choose the national Pat Flynn Spirit of Relay Award winner.
The final Pat Flynn Spirit of Relay Award will be presented through the National Community Fundraising Leadership Team (volunteers).
- National Event Winner & North Region Winner: Relay For Life of Butler County, NE
- North Central Region Winner: Relay For Life of Grand Traverse
- Northeast Region Winner: Relay For Life of Wicomico
- South Region Winner: Relay For Life of Cherokee Co., TX
- Southeast Region Winner: Relay For Life of Triad
- West Region Winner: Relay For Life of Santa Clarita Valley, CA
- Unified Event Support Winner: Relay For Life of Millbrook (Tri Cities) AL
Pat Flynn Spirit of Relay Individual Winners
- National Individual Winner & Northeast Region Winner: Katelynn Ducharme
- North Region Winner: Bob Silipigni
- South Region Winner: Mary Gutierrez, Charles Etta Francis, Ruth Jatzlau and the ELT of RFL of Lee County TX
- Southeast Region Winner: George Brinkley (Relay For Life of Shenandoah Co.)
- West Region Winner: Mr. Casey Garness
THE POWER OF HOPE AWARDS
The Power of Hope Award is nomination-based, to recognize community events that have continued to support, honor and engage cancer survivors and their families in their community.
Nominations will be submitted by the Region Leadership volunteers and staff. Relay events will be notified by the Area or Region if they are nominated. Regions nominate on an area level and designate one winner for the region award. The seven regional winners [6 Regions and 1 UES] will be submitted to choose the national Power of Hope winner.
The national Power of Hope Award will be presented through the National Community Fundraising Leadership Team (volunteers).
Meet all the Power of Hope Winners
- National Winner & West Region Winner: Relay For Life of Guam
- North Region Winner: Relay For Life of Shawnee County, KS
- North Central Region Winner: Relay For Life of Midland County MI
- Northeast Region Winner: Relay For Life of Chester County
- South Region Winner: Relay For Life of Terrebonne Parish, LA
- Southeast Region Winner: Relay For Life of Forsyth County
- Unified Event Support Winner: Relay For Life of Montgomery County, VA
DATA DETERMINED AWARDS
Gordy Klatt #1 Net Income Event
Nationwide Top Net Income Events
This award goes to the top nationwide fundraising events in the country based on net income from American Cancer Society records.
Top 10 Community Relay For Life
1. Relay For Life of Morgan Decatur AL: $525,870
2. Relay For Life of Eugene-Springfield OR: $467,312
3. Relay For Life of Gwinnett County GA: $426,431
4. Relay For Life of Second Life: $384,047
5. Relay For Life of Lancaster PA: $368,528
6. Relay For Life of Yellowstone MT: $353,500
7. Relay For Life of St. James Parish LA: $321,462
8. Relay For Life of Thurston Co. WA: $296,977
9. Relay For Life of Marco Island FL: $269,870
10. Relay For Life of Central Florida: $268,143
Top 10 College Relay For Life
1. Relay For Life of Virginia Tech: $339,202
2. Relay For Life of UCLA: $189,760
3. Relay For Life of James Madison University: $167,232
4. Relay For Life of University of Michigan: $128,754
5. Relay For Life of Florida State University: $120,875
6. Relay For Life of University of Oklahoma: $109,036
7. Relay For Life of Georgia: $102,625
8. Relay For Life of Cincinnati: $99,652
9. Relay For Life of South Carolina: $85,546
10. Relay For Life of Northeastern University: $82,189
Top 5 High School Relay For Life
1. Relay For Life of Father Ryan: $164,336
2. Relay For Life of Northern Hunterdon: $76,561
3. Relay For Life of Jaguar Nation: $62,815
4. Relay For Life of Mission San Jose High School: $48,985
5. Relay For Life of Howell: $44,697
EXPLOSIVE GROWTH AWARDS
% Growth over Last Year
- Relay For Life of Middleton DE: 373%
- Relay For Life of North Hunterdon, NJ: 330%
- Relay For Life of San Juan PR: 329%
$ Growth over Last Year
- Relay For Life of Eugene-Springfield OR: up $205,926
- Relay For Life of UCLA: up $187,101
- Relay For Life of Guilford Co. NC: up $135,048
TOP 10 INDIVIDUAL FUNDRAISERS
- Bert Valenkamph: $187,655
- Kelly Phillips: $114,175
- Clifford Forrest: $109,586
- Bob Silipigni: $93,448
- David Rainey: $90,067
- Gary Streit: $73,762
- Carolyn Cooper: $71,225
- Laura Yaz Deppert: $69,159
- Casey Garness: $56,866
- Lindsay Chauvin: $54,187
NATIONWIDE TEAMS OF EXCELLENCE
$90,000+ Teams
Nucor Steel Decatur | $370,000 |
Nucor Steel Louisiana | $280,577 |
Taco Bell | $277,762 |
St. James | $210,355 |
Team-Valenkamph | $188,440 |
JW Marriott Marco Island | $179,721 |
TPAC | $167,249 |
Wayne Farms, LLC-Decatur | $132,849 |
Perdue Farms | $132,410 |
One Nucor Way | $127,118 |
Connexus Credit Union | $123,286 |
Southern Motion | $112,652 |
M1/IAM | $110,021 |
Rosebud Miners | $109,350 |
Bear Nation #GoldTogether | $108,080 |
KPMG Silicon Valley | $103,553 |
The Naturals | $102,334 |
Martz Trailways | $95,435 |
Fantasy Faire | $95,236 |
LHS Lions | $93,498 |
“New Hope For a Cure” – New Hope Presbyterian Church | $93,182 |
Connolly’s Crew | $90,000 |
$50,000+ Teams
Primerica | $79,960 |
Team Jocelyn | $78,289 |
Nucor Steel Hertford County | $77,242 |
Forever Fighters – Team ACS | $77,148 |
Trident Seafoods | $75,060 |
Gary’s Gang | $73,782 |
Barbers Hill ISD | $72,162 |
Premier Physicians of Sarasota | $71,224 |
Team GovGuam | $70,826 |
Making A Difference – Big O Tires | $70,685 |
Dari Mart | $69,477 |
Guardians of the Galaxy | $64,466 |
FivePoint Credit Union | $64,398 |
America’s Preferred Home Warranty | $63,770 |
Shoot Down Kids Cancer | $61,205 |
Pelican Pointe | $59,554 |
A Ray of Hope | $59,157 |
D.M. Bowman | $54,500 |
Family Affair | $52,795 |
Windsor Walkers | $52,309 |
Team DeVito | $51,168 |
Perdue Chicks | $51,000 |
Top Fundraising Company
Nucor Steel
$934,660 Raised
Hero of Research Teams
The Hero of Research award offers qualified teams, represented by their Team Captain, an opportunity to name an existing extramural research grant in honor of a loved one or their team. Named grants are active for three years once identified.
- For 2021, any team already at $165,000 will have the opportunity to raise $50,000 new dollars (over the previous year) and name an additional research grant for one year. For years two and three, any amount over the previous year qualifies the team to maintain that grant.
- For 2021, any new team that reaches the $165,000 level for the first time qualifies for the option to a put a name on an already approved grant.
- For 2022, the program will be re-set to reflect the new grant funding amount of $175,500.
| Region | Event Name | Team Name | Grant Name |
| Southeast | Cape Fear Area, NC | St. James | St. James Community Research Project |
| North Central | Tippecanoe County, IN | Team- Valenkamph | Nancy Valenkamph Cancer Foundation and Golf Outings |
| Southeast | Marco Island, FL | JW Marriott Marco Island | JW Marriott Marco Island’s Members Club |
| Southeast | Charlotte County, VA | Truckers Parade Against Cancer TPAC | Charlotte County, Virginia – TPAC |
Legacy Teams
Legacy Teams have raised at least $1 million to date.
| Region | Team Name | Event Name |
| South | Nucor Steel Decatur | Relay For Life of Morgan Decatur |
| South | Wayne Farms LLC | Relay For Life of Morgan Decatur |
| South | Nucor Steel Louisiana | Relay For Life of St James Parish |
| South | Southern Motion | Relay For Life of Pontotoc County MS |
| South | Taco Bell | Relay For Life of Cherokee County Tx |
| South | Fivepoint Credit Union | Relay For Life of Jefferson County Tx |
| UES | M1/IAM 2003 | Relay For Life of Dale County AL |
| Northcentral | MTD | Relay For Life of Weakley Co. |
| Northcentral | Team-Valenkamph | Relay For Life of Tippecanoe Co. |
| West | Connolly’s Crew | Relay For Life of Thurston Co. |
| West | Trident Seafoods | Relay For Life of King Co. Shoreline Wa |
| Southeast | TPAC | Relay For Life of Charlotte County |
| Southeast | Nucor Steel Hertford County | Relay For Life of Hertford Gates Counties |
| Southeast | Perdue Farms Lewiston | Relay For Life of Bertie County |