The American Cancer Society today announced that Meghan Wilson, a senior at Starrs Mill High School in Fayetteville, Georgia, is the winner of the Society’s Outstanding Student Leadership Award in Georgia. Meghan, a survivor of childhood leukemia, will be honored at the Fayette County Relay For Life kickoff at the Commemorative Air Force Hangar at Falcon Field on November 15.
Meghan consistently raised $4,000+ in Relay every year and served as captain of her Relay team – which raised over $15,000 annually for the past two years and more than $115,000 since it was founded. She serves as an ambassador for Relay For Life in Fayette County.
In the nomination form, Kim Westwood, the Society’s Community Manager in Fayette, said, “Not only has Meghan been involved with Relay For Life of Fayette for eight years, she has involved her community, her school, her family and her friends.
“We are so pleased to honor this outstanding student for not only her leadership in Relay For Life but for her dedication to the cause of stamping out cancer,” says Randy Redner, American Cancer Society State Vice President for Georgia. “Meghan and her family know that getting involved in the fight against cancer is what it takes to make a difference. And they know first-hand that taking up the fight against this terrible disease saves precious lives like Meghan’s.”
Meghan was diagnosed with leukemia when she was 2 1/2 years old and given only a 10 percent chance of survival. Her parents, Tonya and Anthony Wilson, considered not putting their daughter through the process she would have to endure, given the small chance of surviving the disease. But Meghan’s doctor explained that there had been many advances in the previous 10 years, and he encouraged the family to go through with the treatment, saying, “How do you know Meghan is not one of the 10 percent?”
“Fortunately, she was one of the 10 percent, and after six months of chemotherapy, she entered remission and remains in remission today,” according to the award nomination form. “It is in the hope of furthering life-saving research that Meghan and her family Relay. Meghan Relays ‘so that everyone has a chance to lead a cancer-free life.’”
Meghan has not only served as a Relay For Life leader, she has personally befriended many others involved in Relay and in the battle against cancer.
Last year, Mary Evelyn King, eight years old and a fellow Relay ambassador, lost her battle with cancer after a brave fight. At the Relay kickoff, Meghan addressed the crowd about her friendship with Mary Evelyn and introduced Mary Evelyn’s classmates, who sang at song at the event. At the 2011 Fayette Relay, Meghan’s team members wore sweatshirts with Mary Evelyn’s initials embroidered on the sleeves.
Supporting the American Cancer Society is a family affair for the Wilsons. Meghan’s younger sister, Natalie, started her own Relay team, which raised nearly $6,000 in its first year. Meghan has inspired her parents to get involved with Relay and the American Cancer Society, and her father, Anthony, serves on the Society’s Atlanta Executive Leadership Council.
Relay For Life is the American Cancer Society’s Signature Event, with Relays taking place every year in more than 5,000 communities nationwide and in several foreign countries. Relays are overnight events that take place at schools, fairgrounds and other locations with a track, where Relay team members walk all night to raise money and awareness to fight cancer. Relays unite every part of the community – businesses, schools, churches, civic organizations and individuals – for the common causes of fighting cancer and honoring cancer survivorship. For information on Relay For Life or to find a Relay near you, visit www.garelayforlife.org.
For information on the Relay For Life kickoff in Fayette, please call the American Cancer Society’s local office at 770-631-0625.
