Craig Daily Press

Craig — The number 100 has a double significance for Craig residents this summer.

Besides the ties with the city’s centennial, the number also represents a goal that has not only been reached, but also exceeded.

The planning committee for the second annual Craig Relay For Life announced a tally of $107,042.27 in funds raised. The amount puts the committee over the mark in its objective of accumulating $100,000 for donation toward the American Cancer Society.

This sum comes from the Relay’s yearlong fundraisers held by 37 teams and 487 people overall, the majority of which was collected leading up to the July 18 and 19 relay. By the end of the overnight event, the count was more than $101,000.

In order to accommodate the 5.2 percent in reimbursements toward the ACS, the actual goal stood at $105,245. Continued donations from all the groups helped the planning committee achieve the aim, with an influx of funds from Second Chance Kids and Masterworks Mechanical pushing past the intended amount.

Event co-chair Elisa Hayes said she and the rest of the committee are excited about raising even more money than they had planned. With $1,530.17 raised thus far, she is one of the top individual earners for the relay.

“Lisa Lawton and Cathy Lowther have definitely raised the most,” she said. “It’s hard to say at this point who’s in the third position, because right now, I’m only about 17 cents ahead of Kerry Kelly, and she’s only $21 ahead of Jana Rowe. It could change at any time, since we’re still taking donations.”

Hayes maintained that the count is not a contest, rather a way to indicate the hard work of relay participants.

“Everybody has done a great job,” she said.

The committee chairs and team captains will meet at 5 p.m. tonight at Holiday Inn of Craig to distribute awards. Hayes and fellow co-chair Yvonne McAnally will attend another awards ceremony Sept. 22 at the Relay’s Great West Division Leadership Summit in Reno, Nev.

“We’re really hoping to bring something back from it,” Hayes said.

Relay For Life team captains will continue to accept donations for the 2008 event until Aug. 31, with subsequent funds rolling over into next year’s event. Hayes said she expects the monetary support for 2009 “to be just as good, if not better.”

“I certainly hope the turnout will be as great as it was,” she said. “The community here has a vested interest in the cause, because everybody is touched by cancer. The ACS does great things, and we’re glad to be involved with them.”