PORT ANGELES — Last month’s first Port Angeles Prostate Cancer Walk-A-Thon netted close to $11,000 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation, said event organizer Gary Johnson.
“The response from the community was just amazing,” said Johnson, a longtime employee of the Port Angeles Safeway store at 110 E. Third St.
The 24-hour walkathon at the Port Angeles High School track June 25-26 was part of a Safeway initiative to raise money for prostate cancer research.
Johnson took it a step further with a walkathon that was inspired by the nationwide Relay For Life campaign by the American Cancer Society.
One in six American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, said Dr. Peter S. Nelson, a prostate cancer expert from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
Other fundraisers
The Safeway store raised about $17,000 last month through the walkathon and in-store fundraisers like an autographed baseball auction. The store placed signs above the aisles listing the businesses that contributed to the prostate cancer fundraiser.
Johnson thanked the participants and all of the volunteers. He extended a special thanks to the city of Port Angeles, which provided additional lighting at the track at no cost to the organizers.
All told, some 200 people took part in the walkathon relay.
“We had people that came in at 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning,” Johnson said.
“They were very, very committed to doing their laps.”
The walkathon started at 9 a.m. with a prostate cancer survivors’ lap and the playing of taps on a bagpipe.
“There wasn’t a dry eye there,” Johnson said.
“It was absolutely incredible.”
Like Relay For Life, the Prostate Cancer Walk-A-Thon featured a nighttime luminary ceremony with lit bags representing the memory of those who have lost their battle with cancer.
Annual possibility
Johnson hopes to make the Prostate Cancer Walk-A-Thon an annual event. He said he already has the support of scores of Port Angeles citizens.
Despite the expected glitches that come with any first-time event, Johnson said he was “very surprised” by how well the walkathon went.
“I’m so tickled to be a part of this,” Johnson said.
“This thing is going to be so huge next year.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
