Staff Writer

May 10, 2000 10 PM

Come Friday, May 19, citizens of Pike County will gather on the campus of Troy State University for a time of recollection and remembrance for those loved ones who are no longer with us.

The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life is just over a week away and local businesses and organizations have been doing their to help the fight against cancer, a disease that claims the lives of more then 500,000 people a year in the United States alone.

Regions Bank President Jack Rainey said that because cancer affects so many people, there’s just not enough anyone can do when it comes to fighting the disease.

"It (cancer) has certainly affected my family, so I see what it can do to people," he said. "Cancer affects just about every family in this area."

Rainey said that not only has he seen problems that cancer can cause in his own family, but also among the employees of Regions Bank as well.

"We’ve had employees within our local company who are survivors at this point and we lost an employee a few years ago to leukemia, which is a form of cancer," Rainey said. "That hit us pretty hard."

He continued, " Not just me, but the employees of Regions Bank feel that the American Cancer Society is a great organization and anything we can do to help find a cure for some of those horrible diseases, we’d like to participate and do."

Jim Jackson of Bill Jackson Chevrolet said that he hasn’t had to deal with cancer that directly, other than a family friend or two, but feels that Relay for Life is probably one of the best things around to bring a community together for a common cause.

"The work that some of the people put into Relay for Life is tremendous and it’s just a great cause," he said.

Gary Guthrie, president of Troy Bank and Trust said that his employees have chosen to be Luminary Sponsor for the third straight year, because of the disease itself.

"It’s easier to be willing to support a fight against something like that, when you know or have known someone that has went through a battle with the disease," he said. "Like a lot of businesses in town we like to participate in it and support it.

Guthrie also added that the money raised by Relay for Life is usually kept within the state of Alabama for cancer research and that is another reason that people are so willing to support it.

"You know your money is going to work here at home in the fight against cancer and that’s just one more reason we’re always glad to do it," he said.