Over $5,000 dollars were raised for cancer research in Goshen Saturday, as Goshen held its Relay for Life kickoff event.

Goshen Relay for Life Chairman Kadra Jordan said the initial goal for Goshen’s entire Relay for Life campaign was $5,000, but the kickoff event alone was able to top that.

“I am very excited about meeting our goal,” Jordan said. “We had given ourselves until May to meet this goal and have already exceeded it. Now our focus will be on more fundraising until May and possibly raising our goal.”

The kickoff event had plenty to offer those in attendance, as there was musical entertainment and prize giveaways, as well as a womanless beauty pageant, with Tim Brooks taking home the prestigious award.

“I really want to thank everyone that was involved in either the event planning, or entertainment or donated items,” Jordan said. “It took all of their help to make this possible.

The event was intended to be an official start to Goshen’s fundraising efforts for Pike County Relay For Life, which does not begin until May.

However, as the total amount raised shows, the people of Goshen will not be waiting until May to donate.

The event had several teams participating, including Goshen Baptist Church, Goshen Elementary School, Team CAKE, Brooke’s Beauty Salon and Team BEC.

Team BEC is a team that was established in honor of local cancer patients EB Johnson and Brenda Swanzy and in memory of Claud Johnson, and it had volunteer help in the form of representatives from Troy University’s Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated.

And, while severe weather rolled through the area Saturday, that did not stop the people of Goshen from coming out to support Relay For Life.

“We’ve really had more people than I ever could have expected,” Jordan said. ‘When the weather came through earlier today, I was really worried, but one thing about people in Goshen is that they usually stick together, so I’m just thankful that the community came out and supported us the way they have.”

Now that the kickoff is in the books, the town will turn its attention to raising more money for Pike County’s Relay for Life in May.

“We’re going to continue fundraising from September all the way up until Pike County Relay For Life in May, so we’ll be having some beauty pageants, and I know several churches are going to have some fund raising events of their own,” Jordan said.

“Looking back on the event, I am very pleased with the overall outcome. I can’t think of anything that went wrong nor did I hear any complaints. What we had was a fun family event that also raised lots of money for cancer research.”