By Smarty Guest Blogger, Shawn Williams
Cancer SUCKS! You know it, and I know it. No one disagrees with the statement. What continues to bother me is how much it impacts the lives of people around me, and now it has hit in my own family. For a year and a half, my sister-in-law, Kelly-Grier Costin, has been in her own war against the nasty “C” word. Watching her fight is both awesome for her strength in the fight and scary because no one deserves this, ever. She was 34 at the time of her diagnosis with three small children. She workouts regularly, eats all the right things, just not the person that gets cancer! Guess what? She has stage IV Colon Cancer. The scariest part of this new reality is that in case we didn’t know before, this puts a huge spotlight on the fact that cancer does not discriminate. She is a warrior, but it would have been perfectly fine for us to never have to know what a bad a$$ she has had to become. With grace she is moving through the scariest battle she has had to encounter and has an army behind her constantly reminding her that “No One Fights Alone”!
We walked with so many people who rallied around her last year for the annual Get Your Rear in Gear event here in Charlotte. The show of support was enough to get us all happily across the finish line. We supported our own hero all the way, but we also wondered what more could be done. My brother, Ryan, KG’s husband, is the general manager of Beech Mountain Ski Resort, and in conjunction with our younger brother, we have been working for my dad for years. We thought Beech Mountain Resort was a perfect place to have an event to raise awareness and support of the Colon Cancer Coalition, and Boom! “Runs for Buns” was born! We want to rally around KG and spread awareness about early detection. So, this is it- the first year of what I hope to see go on for years supporting our own warrior and anyone touched by cancer.
Runs for Buns is a simple concept. Participants will solicit pledges per ski/board run. Ski runs will be tallied at lift 5 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 7th. You can register online or manually by picking up a packet through the Group Sales office. All packets must be turned in by Thursday, March 5.
Kelly-Grier and family
Registration:
Register as an individual or a team and ask family or friends to support your fundraising efforts. To promote some friendly competition, prizes will be awarded to the team that raises the most money! The goal is to simply have fun while raising awareness for colon cancer.
Fundraising can be done in two ways:
1. Simple Donation. A simple donation is when you donate a flat amount of money regardless of how many or if any runs are completed.
2. Pledge Per Run: Pledge per run is when donors pledge a dollar amount for every ski run completed. Pledge sheets are attached, or you can use the online platform. Pledge sheets are a great method for kids.
To register or donate visit: https://donate.coloncancercoalition.org/beech-mountain
A series of fun events throughout the first week of March will provide a fun way to bring families together in support of a good cause! Check out our attached schedule or visit the Facebook Page. We have various local businesses partnering to make this event a success. These events will be held between Boone, Banner Elk and Beech Mountain. Event locations include: Come Back Shack, Mellow Mushroom, Appalachian Mountain Brewing Co., High Country Yoga, Avery Community Yoga, Bodegas, Famous Brick Oven Pizzeria, and Beech Mountain Brewing Co.
Raffle and Silent Auction:
Another element to our event is a silent auction and a raffle. We already have several generous donations from Pisten Bully, Floyd Fest, Merle Fest, Rossignol and several great local partners. If you are interested in selling raffle tickets or helping with our auction, please let us know.
For further information please visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/585935375538158/
For additional questions or interest in helping please contact me! Remember to wear blue on Saturday, March 7th!
Join us to have fun but continue the fight! And remember #NoOneFightsAlone!
