THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 5, 1996 TAG: 9606040138
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: 70 lines
When Gladys Lee learned that she had cancer, the tick-tock of the clock seemed to speed up and time was suddenly of the essence.
But it's on her side now that she's finished treatment.
The Virginia Beach woman used the intervening 15 months to help other victims of the disease, organizing fellow Postal Service workers in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake as well as Norfolk, where she is employed. On Friday and Saturday, 90 postal service employees participated in a 24-hour benefit relay walk-a-thon that raised $359,000 for the fight against cancer. They were among 170 private and public sector groups of 15 members each that tag-teamed their day- and night-long loops around Great Neck Middle School's track.
Organizers hope the tally from this year's event will put them in first place nationally. Last year, walkers raised $246,000, the third-highest of all American Cancer Society chapters taking part.
Leading the way Friday evening were hundreds of cancer survivors, young and old, who triumphantly walked, ran and wheelchaired the first lap.
As night fell, white bags lining the track began to glow warmly with candlelight. They were inscribed with the names of many who had lost their battles with the disease. Anna M. Foster . . . Monica Wildes . . . Maggie Kelly . . .
``Last year, it was just me and God,'' said Lee, watching hundreds of pairs of feet march past. ``And Tommy,'' she added. Gladys Lee had been wed to her new husband, Thomas Lee, for only three weeks when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. He gave her the support she needed to get through surgery and radiation treatment. Thomas Lee also works for the Postal Service in Norfolk.
She gestured to the tents surrounding her at the center of the postal service site on the track's infield, then recounted how she got involved.
She was waiting in her doctor's office during post-surgery treatment when she noticed a walk-a-thon brochure and picked it up.
Already impressed with the support she'd gotten from the American Cancer Society, she made the decision to become an activist.
``I couldn't work, so I decided that I might as well do something'' for the battle against cancer, she said.
At 1:30 a.m. Saturday, as the glowing bags revealed the names of departed loved ones - Frank Hasson . . . Naomi Darby . . . Jimmy Diester . . . - the walkers walked on.
Judy and Orville Ayers and Brian and Wendy Grigsby of the First Virginia Bank team were huddled around a campfire on the infield. The company got involved in the project, in part, because several employees had recently lost their battles against cancer.
By collecting donations individually, team members managed to contribute $2,400 to the cause, said Gene Ballard, team leader.
``The 2-to-5 shift is slower,'' said Ballard, watching the feet go by.
The little lights twinkled as volunteers marched on into the dawn. Watson Cooper . . . Arthur Brothman . . . Tommy Liles . . . Ruth Whitehouse . . .
William Banks Jr., president of the American Cancer Society's Virginia division, also was logging some laps in the walk-a-thon later Saturday morning when two grass-skirted girls on roller blades whizzed past followed by a small boy in a T-shirt so large it skirted the tops of his socks and skimmed his wrists.
``It's really an outpouring of community support,'' said Banks, adding that it appeared that the state goal of $1.75 million would be met.
Meanwhile, Gladys Lee was smiling in the bright morning sun, watching lines of white helium balloons trail upward into the blue sky and bob in the breeze. She was clearly pleased with what her efforts had wrought as the music began again and the strides of the walkers lengthened.
``When somebody tells you you've got the big `C' everything changes,'' she said.
``You appreciate things you overlooked, like the stars, and you forget about the things you used to think were important, like the tiffs with the ex. You realize that you shouldn't waste time, because the deadline seems closer, you don't know when, and you feel closer to God.'' by CNB