The Observer Newspapers | $185K Raised at Annual Herndon Relay for Life

June 13, 2008

$185K Raised at Annual Herndon Relay for Life

By Rebecca Plevin
Observer Staff Writer

This year, Jackie and Jeff Johnson, owners of JJ Deli in the Herndon Centennial Golf Course, donated food for the Herndon Relay for Life kick-off party, held their annual Cinco de Mayo fundraiser party, and participated in the Relay for Life as part of the team O'Reilly's Irish Rovers. The Johnsons also held a used phone fundraiser, sold purple ribbons and kept an American Cancer Society change can on their deli counter.

For their commitment to the Relay for Life and for their enthusiasm for the event, the Johnsons were selected as the 2008 recipients of the Gregg Simpson Spirit of Relay award. The award "means a lot, actually," Jeff Johnson said Tuesday. "It signifies the fight to cure cancer and also the enthusiasm and spirit of community that Herndon has." Jackie Johnson said receiving the award "gave me goose bumps. It was just a great feeling."

The Spirit of Relay award was created in 2006 in honor of Gregg Simpson, a Herndon resident who loved how the relay brought the community together for the goal of eliminating cancer. The award honors "people in the community that have been very supportive of the event," said Debby Burt, co-chairman of the 2008 Herndon Relay for Life.

The annual Relay for Life supports the American Cancer Society and Jackie Johnson said she is so committed to the event because the disease "can affect any of us, anyone. You just never know when you're going to need something." She said it is very important to get the community involved in the cause and aware of the disease.

Jeff Johnson said the Relay for Life is a unique event because it engages people of all ages and unites them for a single purpose. The event, he said, "gives us a sense of community within the community." He said the couple would continue to be involved in the event in coming years and "we're in it for the long run."

This year, the Herndon Relay for Life raised $185,133 for the American Cancer Society, according to Burt. There were 939 registered participants and Burt said she was impressed that so many people continued to walk around the Herndon High School track even in the sizzling heat. The community was "so dedicated to the cause that they stayed out there under the heat conditions," Burt said. It is "an incredible community dedicated to a great cause."