Spring time means getting the word out for the organizers of the Relay for Life of Black Diamond-Covington-Maple Valley.

Thus far, there are 16 teams, explained committee co-chair Laura Hiner along with $12,000 raised.

The goal, Hiner said, is to have at least 25 teams total signed up for the event and to raise $40,000.

“We’re just trying to get more active and involved in the community,” she said. “We’re just trying to get more active and have people recognize us as a Relay and develop relationships.”

Hiner first got involved with Relay through her employer, Fred Meyer, while working at the store in Federal Way. She became a team captain and later became an entertainment committee chair in her second year with the event held at Tahoma Junior High every June.

Relay for Life raises money for the American Cancer Association. Hiner’s family has been affected in many ways by cancer.

“My husband lost his mother and stepfather within a very short time,” Hiner said. “Within three weeks of diagnosis they passed away. My father is a cancer survivor and my husband’s father, my father in law, is a cancer survivor, as well.”

Hiner is in her seventh year of participating in Relay and she still remembers her first experience.

“The first year we did this… we didn’t have a clue,” she said. “We brought our pop up tent. We had a great time even though it rained the whole time.”

This year about half of the 16 teams are new, Hiner said, which she explained is exciting.

“That’s how we’re hoping to get it built up is to bring in new participants,” she said. “You just have to go to the event and see for yourself. And to top it all off , you’re raising money for an amazing cause.”

As the organizing committee has worked on this year’s event and raising awareness, Hiner said, they discovered there are still a number of people in the area who don’t even know there is a local Relay event.

“When we go out in the community and talk to people, we ask them if they’ve ever heard of Relay,” she said. “They say, ‘No, what is that?’ It’s been around in the community for 13 years now. That’s our biggest challenge is to just get people to know what it is so they can get excited about it… so they can help.”

Hiner encourages anyone interested in participating to attend the committee’s monthly meetings which are at 7 p.m., the first Wednesday of the month, at the Covington MultiCare.

“If people just want to come and find out what it’s about, they can come to a meeting,” she said. “We want to encourage cancer survivors to register just to participate. They don’t have to raise money.”

She also hopes that caregivers of cancer patients would be willing to join in at the event so they can celebrate the loved one they took care of as well as be celebrated for being caregivers.

Another opportunity to help is to volunteer to set up or tear down before or after the Relay, which is set for June 24-25.

Hiner, who has gotten her whole family involved over the years, would also like to see more youth teams formed at area schools.

Her son, Anthony, formed a team last year while he was a senior at Kentlake High along with his brothers and some of his friends. They raised $600.

“We tried to do what we could,” he said. “We helped out with all the set up and take down. Obviously being the son of a committee member you have a lot more to do.”

But, like his mother, he’s motivated to be involved and Hiner hopes people look to him as an example.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Anthony Hiner said. “I enjoy doing it every year. It’s always something I look forward to.”

Hiner said youth teams are the future of Relay and “they bring such energy … and they bring such enthusiasm to it.”

Ultimately, there are many opportunities and roles to play for those who want to support the local Relay, she said.

“It’s an amazing way to be able to give back,” Hiner said. “It’s also an amazing way to have a little bit of control over what’s going on when you hear someone has cancer because you feel like you’re doing something and you can make a difference. There are so many ways that you can participate and do something.”

For more information visit the Relay’s website at www.relayforlife4corners.org or call Hiner at 206-437-3538.