The 2014 Pike County Relay for Life campaign will kick off at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday on the square in downtown Troy and everyone is invited.

Kay Franklin, American Cancer Society community representative, said that 2014 is the 20th anniversary of the Pike County Relay for Life campaign and the Relay board has special plans for kicking off this milestone year event.

“Last year’s Relay for Life culminating activity in May was rained out and, with it, the Luminary Ceremony,” Franklin said. “The Luminary Ceremony is such a meaningful and moving part of Relay. It honors those who are cancer survivors and remembers those whose battles were lost. This ceremony is so important that the 2013 Luminary ceremony will be the main focus of the 2014 kickoff celebration.”

Franklin said the names of those on the 2013 Luminaries will be read just as they would have been read at the ceremony in May.

“We will honor and remember those on the frontlines of the battle against cancer,” she said.

The 2014 Pike County Relay for Life kickoff celebration will also recognize the Relay for Life campaign chairs over the past 19 years.

“We have invited the past Relay chairs to be a part of this special kickoff event,” Franklin said. “We will highlight the past campaigns and look toward a successful 2014 fundraising campaign.”

The Relay kickoff will also be a time for teams to register or to learn more about organizing a team or campaigning as individuals.

Franklin said Pike County has been very generous in its giving to the American Cancer Society through Relay for Life over the years.

“In 19 years, the people of Pike County have donated more than $2.7 million in the fight against cancer,” she said. “That’s tremendous. Lives are being saved every day through research, early diagnosis and treatments. One day, cancer will be defeated. We are working toward that day.”

Everyone is encouraged to attend the Pike County Relay for Life campaign kickoff celebration on the square in downtown Troy on Tuesday.

“This is our 20th year,” Franklin said. “Let’s make it the biggest kickoff ever.”

The 2014 Relay for Life fundraising campaign will be on May 2 at the Troy Sportsplex.