Race day is approaching and Relay for Life teams are revving their engines in anticipation of a huge event.

Julie Ray, co-chairwoman for the 2011 Relay for Life event, said 10 teams have committed to being a part of the event.

“So far we have 10 teams that have committed to Relay,” Ray said. “We have nine teams who will be at the event and one silent team already committed to helping raise funds.”

Ray said more teams are needed to work toward the Relay goal of $65,000.

“We have set our goal a little higher this year at $65,000,” Ray said. “To reach that goal we will need to get some more teams in the race.”

The theme for the 2011 event is “Racing for the Cure” and will feature a variety of racing motifs.

“We have had teams to commit to their individual themes,” Ray said. “Some have chosen themes involving NASCAR, motocross and even horse racing. It’s going to be interesting to see all of the racing themes this year.”

The event, which is set for April 30, 2011, will be held at Tom Byrne Memorial Park, weather permitting. The 2010 event was moved the Atmore Area YMCA facilities due to rain on event day.

“We still had a good time at Relay,” Ray said. “We are hoping for more involvement and more fun for the 2011 Relay.”

The themes chosen by teams already committed to Relay include Nationwide NASCAR for Atmore Family Medicine; drag racing for United Bank; horse racing for Gulf Winds Federal Credit Union; Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown for Atmore First Baptist Church Preschool; Sprint Cup NASCAR for Walgreens; airplane racing for Winn Dixie; motocross for The Atmore Advance; greyhound racing for Poarch Band of Creek Indians and First Assembly of God is undecided on their individual theme.

“There are still plenty of great racing ideas out there for teams who want to participate,” Ray said. “We want to include as many people as possible in this year’s Relay. The more we have racing for the cure the better chance we have of reaching our goal.” Ray said the goal for the 2011 event has been set at $65,000 with a goal to have 20 teams participating.

The next committee meeting is set for Oct. 7 at noon at Alabama Wing House.

The October team captains meeting will be held Oct. 14 at noon at Brooks Memorial Baptist Church. Committee members for the 2011 Relay for Life include McKenzie Rolin as

Honorary Chairperson; Ray and Johnson as co-chairwomen; Elaine Rogers – sponsorship; Deborah Camp – activities; Kimber Smith – team development; Cindy Lee – survivors; Donna Gilman – advertising; Sherry Digmon – media; Kitty Day – luminaries; Pat Hall James – Paint the Town Purple; and Keith Smith – logistics.

Title sponsor for the 2011 event is the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.

For more information about Relay for Life, contact any committee member or visit the American Cancer Society’s Web site at www.cancer.org.