Tony Thompson is a local country artist known for his contemporary style and smooth vocals. He has spent the past few years growing his fan base singing at local festivals, events and competitions. Tony sang at his first American Cancer Society Relay for Life in 2005. The following year he decided to get more involved and learn more about this wonderful cause. Inspired by a song called "Skin" by Rascal Flatts, he contacted two of the Relay for Life coordinators in 2006. The song is about a teenage girl named Sarabeth dealing with cancer. Thompson sent the words of the song along with his biography to the Allen Park and Lincoln Park Relay coordinators. Both responded eagerly to his offer to sing at the cancer awareness events.
Allen Park's Relay was held on a blustery cold day in May 2006. During the event, team members took turns walking around the track at Milward Park, raising money and awareness in the fight against cancer. Tony was amazed at the turnout despite the cold temperature. He sang his own set, then made a special appearance during the Luminaria Ceremony just after sundown. The Luminaria Ceremony is where all the candles, or luminaria, are lit around the track in honor of cancer victims and survivors. Tony brought the crowd to tears with his touching renditions of "One More Day" by Diamond Rio and "Skin" by Rascal Flatts. It was then that Tony began to realize how great it felt to give to such a worthy cause. He sold copies of his demo CD and donated all the money to the ACS. Lincoln Park's Relay in June was equally successful. He was asked back to both Relays in 2007, he gladly accepted the honor.
Little did Tony know that in March of 2007 the Relay for Life events would take on a much more personal meaning. A week before he was to sing at the Oakland University Relay on March 30th, he found out that a life long family friend, Judy, had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Tony has known her since he was a child. Judy and Tony's mom are best friends, her daughters used to baby-sit him. This touched him in a deep, personal way and gave him encouragement to continue with the cause. It was tough for him to get through an acoustic version of "Go Rest High on the Mountain" at the Oakland Relay. The extreme emotion surrounding this event has inspired him to put greater efforts into creating awareness for the Relay for Life events.
Tony has also took initiative to gather other local artists for the 8th annual Relay for Life in Allen Park on May 19th. Tony will volunteer his sound system and run it for the live entertainment portion. Tony will perform with his band members Tom Moore and Jake Taylor before and during the Luminaria Ceremony. The Relay will take place at Milward Park - Located between Reeck & I-75. Enter off of Reeck Road (between Goddard and Wick) to Pleasant. Go toward I-75, street dead-ends at Milward Park.
The Entertainment Schedule for Allen Park Relay for Life on May 19th is:
12:00pm Randy Rainey - www.randyrainey.net
2:00pm Michael Blair Project - www.myspace.com/michaelblairproject
4:00pm TLT (trio of 3 girls who do singing and dancing)
6:00pm Justine Blazer - www.myspace.com/justineblazermusic
8:00pm April Gibson - www.myspace.com/april_gibson
9:00pm Tony Thompson - www.myspace.com/tonythompsonfans
10:00pm Luminaria Ceremony
Other Relay for Life events that Tony will participate in include:
June 2, 2007 - Belleville, at the high school track
June 9, 2007 - Lincoln Park, at the community center on Dix & Gregory
We all have our own reasons for doing Relay and it binds us all together for this one cause, to fight cancer. By joining together as volunteers and donors, our efforts help the American Cancer Society strive toward a future where cancer doesn't take the lives of our friends and family. Tony is very appreciative of the support he has received from the Relay for Life coordinators. You can support this cause by buying a luminaria to light in honor of a cancer victim. They can be purchased at any of the Relay for Life events. For more information on how you can get involved visit www.relayforlife.org or call 800-ACS-2345. For more information on Tony Thompson go to www.tonythompsonfans.com.
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