The annual Relay For Life Aiken Golf Classic will be at The Reserve Club at Woodside Plantation on April 27.
Originating nine years ago, its purpose was to raise funds for the American Cancer Society in memory of the team's founder, Dennis Bartholomew. Though the Relay For Life team's planning is inspired by and memorializes loved ones, its objective today, like Relay For Life teams across the country, is to fight for a future where cancer is a story of the past, according to a press release.
That goal is represented by the two individuals chosen to speak at the event. From across the country, and with ties to Aiken, Navy Capt. Bradley D. Skinner, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and former Olympic star Meghan Kinney Avrett, of Redondo Beach, California, are the event's two speakers who will tell the story of their personal battles with cancer.
Skinner is the son of local residents Dr. & Mrs. Jerry Skinner. Skinner holds a master's degree in national security and strategic studies. His resume includes such leadership positions as Aide de Camp, Commander, Staff Officer, Division Chief and deployments to Italy, Hawaii and Bahrain.
Skinner was diagnosed with Stage 3 Colon cancer in 2007 and underwent surgery and chemotherapy.
Today, he is cancer-free and serves at the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado Springs as Command Center Director and Deputy Inspector General.
At the close of the day, Avrett, daughter of local residents, Paul and Ann Kinney, will speak about her journey battling osteosarcoma cancer of the left knee. Meghan is a former Olympian as a member of the United States synchronized swim team at the 2008 games in Beijing. First diagnosed in October 2010, she now has clear scans.
In May, Avrett will graduate from California State College, Dominquez Hills, with a bachelor's degree in elementary education.
Bill Blosser, co-founder and co-chairman of the Aiken Golf Classic, said that his team is extremely pleased to have these two guests as the day's key speakers.
He said that "the Relay For Life's motto is to 'celebrate, remember and fight back' and these two individuals inspire us all to work even harder so that more victims of cancer have their own successful story to tell."