Team seeks cure for registration

KINGSTON —  Karla Woodside, the Race for the Cure team captain for Kingston’s “Flo-On” Team, is in a bit of a panic. Only 13 people have signed up to be a part of her team for the June 4 Seattle event that raises money to help find a cure for breast cancer.

That’s quite a difference from a few years ago when the team had 250 members and was one of the largest non-corporate fund raisers for the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, which organizes the race.

“My concern is that the word is not getting to the people who did it in the past,” Woodside said.

Interested residents can register one of two ways — go to www.seattleraceforthecure.org and sign up as part of “Team Flo-On” or visit the John L. Scott office in Kingston.

Woodside believes there are a few misconceptions about the event, such as it is an actual race. It’s not, she clarified, noting that the gathering simply brings people together to raise awareness and money to fight breast cancer.

“It’s just an overwhelming experience to go to it,” said team member Sonny Woodward. “It’s fabulous.”

“It’s hugely important to cure this disease,” Woodside added.

Last year’s team, with 229 members, raised $3,200 and Woodside wants to reach $5,000 this year.

This year’s event will start at Qwest Field and teams will walk along the Alaskan Way Viaduct and back to the stadium. Kitsap Transit will be providing transportation to and from the event for the Kingston team — participants just have to show up at John L. Scott office in Kingston. The deadline for registration is May 13. For more information, call Woodside at (360) 297-0308 or (360) 710-7868.

Woodside said it seems like there is always someone in the community who is well-known and being diagnosed with some form of cancer. The idea is to walk together in honor of survivors and those who have lost the battle to cancer.

The “Flo-On” Team was started by the late Kathleen Sutton, who rallied people together to walk in honor of the late Kingston resident Florence Parnell in the late 1990s. Last April, after battling the disease for nearly seven years, Sutton also died.

The local impact continues to grow and Woodside said she just found out that a good friend of hers has breast cancer.

“We want to remember our friends,” Woodward said.

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