WINDSOR – It’s been 13 years since Bertie County held the first Relay For Life event in the state of North Carolina.

After raising over $169,000 in this year’s event, the community has shown no sign of slowing down their efforts to generate money for cancer awareness and research.

Relay for Life representative Bobbie Parker confirmed that as of Monday morning the organization had collected $150,892.69 with many corporate pledges still to come.

&uot;Aside from the total we have on hand now, we are expecting the corporate donations to put us over the $169,000 mark, and we still have several upcoming events scheduled for the next couple of months,&uot; Parker said.

Parker explained that an upcoming &uot;Gospel Sing&uot; by the Edgewood Baptist Church Gospel Choir and a &uot;Family Night Out&uot; event sponsored by the Indian Woods Baptist Church Youth Group are expected to increase the total.

&uot;We also are anticipating great support from the Sandy Branch Baptist Church group who are planning a trip to the &uot;UniverSoul Circus&uot; in Greensboro in July,&uot; Parker continued.

A portion of the funds generated by transportation and ticket sales to the circus will go toward the Relay for Life organization.

The annual event, held on the campus of Bertie High School, was again a resounding success. Several individuals and organizations managed to capture awards for their efforts:

Most raised by an individual – Tricia Drew: $10,000.

Most raised by a team – Bertie County Board of Education: $17,663.50.

Runner up – Ross Baptist Church: $15,563.65.

Second Runner up – Perdue Farms Inc.: $10,702.00.

Beth Cayton Light Up the Night Award – Riverside Baptist Church: $2,700.

Willie G. Bazemore &uot;Pack the Track&uot; Award – Bertie County Health Department with 38 survivors.

Best Team Theme – Ross Baptist Church – &uot;CSI&uot; – Cancer Solutions Investigators &uot;On the Trail of a Cure.&uot;

Runner up- Bertie County Board of Education – &uot;Dreaming of a Cure.&uot;

Second Runner up – Mars Hill Community – &uot;Going Nuts for a Cure.&uot;

Best Tent – Bertie County Health Department – &uot;Fired Up to Find a Cure.&uot;

Runner up – C.G. White Middle School – &uot;Grooving For a Cure.&uot;

Second Runner up – Colerain Elementary School – &uot;Pretty in Pink.&uot;

Best T-Shirt – Ross Baptist Church.

Runner up – Bertie County Health Department.

Second Runner up – Conocanary Baptist Church.

Best Team – Bertie County Health Department.

To date the Bertie County Relay For Life effort has raised over $1.6 million dollars for cancer research and awareness since their inception in 1993.