Some might say it’s not the finish line that’s as important as the journey.

This could be an apt description of the Prairie Power team raising money for Relay for Life. In Washington County, Prairie Power is ranked highest for raising money at around $19,000 and this is only the third year of the group’s existence. Team leader Bob Freeman gives perspective on the team’s success, “We’re a group of 19 members and we probably have another 20 or 25 people that help us out during the year. Our ages run from 73 years old to six years old. Our culture of fundraising is that we work year- round at raising money for the American Cancer Society. We aren’t a one month or two month team, we’re a year- round one.”

The team’s goal is to raise $25,000 by this Saturday, but the fundraising won’t stop then, as the team will have an auction and a food booth at the Relay for Life event. Freeman says Prairie Power isn’t just a fundraising team, but one of friends and support, “I made a promise to our daughter. Three years ago we lost a daughter to cancer, and I made a promise to her that I would do whatever I could to raise money for the American Cancer Society. I’ve involved myself with a lot of other people on our team who feel the same way, they want to fight back. We want to do something and we think we can make a difference.”

Besides the Relay for Life event this Saturday in Washington, Prairie Power is having a car show fundraiser on July 2 and will have their luminary event to honor those who’ve fought cancer on July 14 in Wellman.