Meet Your Neighbor: Brian Gibson revamping 2023 Relay for Life

Sheri Trusty
·3 min read
Brian Gibson, a Senior Development Manager for the American Cancer Society, is revamping the annual Relay for Life and moving it to August to accommodate the needs of the many volunteers who form teams for the event.
Brian Gibson, a Senior Development Manager for the American Cancer Society, is revamping the annual Relay for Life and moving it to August to accommodate the needs of the many volunteers who form teams for the event.

FREMONT - About 24 years ago, Brian Gibson was asked to join an American Cancer Society Relay for Life team. Fourteen years ago, he was hired to work for Relay for Life in Sandusky County. This year, Gibson, who now serves as an ACS Senior Development Manager, is revamping the county’s Relay for Life event and moving it to August.

This summer, Relay for Life Sandusky County will move to New Hope Church at 2507 Hayes Ave. in Fremont and will shorten to just a six-hour event. It will be held on Aug. 12 from 3 to 9 p.m.

Changes made to accommodate relay teams

The changes were made to accommodate the dozens of volunteers who make up the county’s teams. Life is just busier than it was when Gibson joined the cause more than two decades ago.

“I asked people what they wanted to do differently, and a lot of it had to do with time,” Gibson said. “People believe in the mission. They believe in the cause. It’s just hard to commit to an all-day component.”

Relay for Life serves as a fundraiser for ACS, which invests 80 cents of every dollar raised into the mission. Donations are utilized for things like research, free rides to chemotherapy and the ACS 24/7 helpline. Although the event raises serious money for a serious cause, Gibson knows how to host a fun Relay for Life. The event will include bounce houses, a slime station, an Easter Egg Relay Hunt, and a Golf Ball Drop where 300 golf balls will fall from the air.

This year, Relay for Life Sandusky County will move to New Hope Church, where Lead Pastor Tony Buxsel “has been nothing but supportive of the transition,” Brian Gibson said. “Everything I ask, I hear yes.”
This year, Relay for Life Sandusky County will move to New Hope Church, where Lead Pastor Tony Buxsel “has been nothing but supportive of the transition,” Brian Gibson said. “Everything I ask, I hear yes.”

The annual Survivor/Caregiver Dinner will be held inside New Hope Church at 5:30 p.m. during the event. Reservations can be made by emailing Jenny Wilhelm at foofoo43420@yahoo.com.

Luminaries to be displayed in church sanctuary

This year, the annual luminaria display will be created inside the church sanctuary. Luminarias are lit to honor someone touched by cancer, whether they have died of cancer, are battling it, or have overcome the disease. Visitors can stop in anytime during the event to honor their loved ones, and a slideshow will begin at 8:30 p.m.

The luminaria display is important to Amanda Branstrator of Fremont, who has led a Relay for Life team since 2011. The team was created to honor the mother of her former Fremont Ross classmate and coworker, Shanda Wheeler.

“Shanda was so proud of her mom for being a cancer survivor, and then Shanda died of a blood clot in November, 2010. The next March, we created a team for Shanda to honor her mom,” Branstrator said.

Branstrator calls her team The Misfits.

“We’ll recognize anybody you want to recognize. We even do pets who died of cancer,” she said. “I had a cat who died of cancer. He was my porch buddy and would sit out there with me as long as I wanted. He gets a luminaria every year.”

The 2023 Relay for Life may look a differently than last year, shown here, but the mission is still the same.
The 2023 Relay for Life may look a differently than last year, shown here, but the mission is still the same.

Gibson, too, has a deep personal connection to Relay for Life.

“I started when a friend’s mom, Barb Wilhelm, asked me to be a part of her team. She had lymphoma and was the honorary survivor that year. I went, and after that, I was hooked,” he said. “We had the relay in May, and we lost her in August. It was the first time I’d been touched by cancer.”

Then his grandmother, Margaret Gibson, died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 90.

“From that point on, Relay for Life has had a personal connection,” Gibson said. “I have a picture of my grandmother above my desk because she is why I do what I do.”

This year, Gibson is going to do it again, but just a little differently.

“We’re keeping it simple and focusing on creating impactful moments,” he said.

More information, including luminaria forms, can be found at relayforlife.org/sandco.

Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at  sheritrusty4@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Meet Your Neighbor: Brian Gibson organizing 2023 Relay for Life