MASON COUNTY — A major local event in the past, plans for revamping the Mason County Relay for Life will soon kick off.

The Mason County Relay for Life Kickoff Party will be at 6 p.m. on Monday, March 25 at the Mason County Public Library in Point Pleasant, and American Cancer Society Community Manager Tambra Cheman will speak about the current plans for the Relay and discuss any other possible ideas to revamp the event and to make it even better than previous years.

“I think it’s going to be a great event,” Cheman said.

The first major difference in this year’s event is the location. While the past several years the relay has been held at the Point Pleasant Junior/Senior High School, and the Mason County Fairgrounds before that, this year the event will be held at the Point Pleasant Riverfront Park. One particular reason the Riverfront Park was chosen for the location, according to Cheman, was the fact it will be a beautiful backdrop for the event, especially the luminaria.

Another difference in this year’s event is the month it will take place. As opposed to previous years when the relay was held in the middle of summer, this year it will be Saturday, Sept. 14, in order to provide those attending with a cooler atmosphere and by so doing, encouraging more people to attend.

Cheman has also been working with Mason County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Hilda Austin in her attempts to bring this event to the forefront of the community and to help get the word out to both citizens and business leaders. Previously at a chamber luncheon, Cheman said the 2012 Mason County Relay for Life raised around $43,000 and the goal for 2013 will be $48,000.

“We need you Mason County,” Cheman said. “From September to the beginning of December 2012, I personally received six service requests for newly diagnosed patients in Mason County alone. Join us for this kickoff party and see how we are trying to fight back against cancer in your community.”

Cheman acknowledged Amy Thompson and other library employees for donating the library as a meeting place for this event, as well as Denny Bellamy and the Mason County Convention and Visitors Bureau for allowing the event to take place at the Riverfront Park.

More on the relay and the new events featured this year will appear in the Point Pleasant Register as information becomes available and the event draws closer.