Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Jaelyn Jimenez will walk to be a leader Friday, Mary McWilliams will walk in May to honor a personal hero and with them will be thousands of others who are walking to find a cure for cancer.
Jimenez, 10, has been dealt a large responsibility, a job her mom says she assumes now that her age as reached the double digits. She will lead the survivor walk at the American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Portales event at Eastern New Mexico University's Greyhound Arena.
The event will help raise money in the fight against cancer with proceeds going to the American Cancer Society to help find a cure and provide wigs for cancer patients.
Jimenez of Portales was diagnosed with leukemia five years ago and continues her battle today. A teacher at Jimenez' school, Valencia Elementary, nominated her to lead the pack of what she says are some of the strongest people.
"She was already on everybody's mind," said Laura Owen when the Valencia group was asked to suggest nominations for the junior chair of the event. "It was like, 'of course her.' For everything she's going through now, she represents the heart of a survivor, she's still in it, she still smiles."
McWilliams, an employee of Southwest Cheese, said this year employees will walk in honor of one of their Southwest Cheese family members, YuSha Pilant, who worked in the company's lab. McWilliams said Pilant died last year from ovarian cancer but her spirit lives on.
"She meant everything," McWilliams said of her friend. "She was a pretty amazing lady. She was very humble."
McWilliams said this is the first year Southwest Cheese is participating as a business in Relay For Life of Clovis but it comes as no surprise that Pilant is the inspiration behind it. They have 38 members.
"She used to own an Oriental restaurant in Clovis and she'd feed people for Thanksgiving," said McWilliams as an example of Pilant's giving nature. "She was always doing something for someone else."
Groups of people, including the ones McWilliams and Jimenez belong to, have been raising money and awareness for the Relay For Life cause.
Owen predicts Valencia Elementary participants and students have raised well over $1,800, and faculty, students and their families have all contributed.
"We're walking for two teachers who currently have cancer and Jaelyn," Owen said. "Our T-shirts are neat. It says, 'alone we are a drop but together we are an ocean.' Every little bit helps, united we are a very powerful force."
In addition to walking for Pilant, Southwest Cheese employee Dawn Smith will also be walking for herself as a survivor. Smith says not many people know she's a survivor and expects many to be surprised when they see her walk in the survivor lap in May at Ned Houk Park.
"I'm walking just to announce to the world that I'm a survivor and I'm going to beat this no matter what it takes," said Smith who has a type of leukemia. "I'm two years and still going strong."
She thinks it's important she and others who work with her to take this leadership role and promote service for this cause. She said while financial support is always important, she'll never take for granted the emotional support that family, friends, caregivers and other survivors provide.
"Other families out there and caregivers are extremely important as well," Smith said.
Relay For Life of Portales
Relay For Life of Clovis
