The planning has started for the 2013 edition of the Estevan Relay for Life.

Event co-chair Patrick Fisher said the Relay committee had their first planning meeting last year. Their first meeting in 2013 will take place on January 24. Many of the committee heads for the 2013 Relay have already been established.

Fisher was the chair of last year's Relay, and he has a co-chair this year: Kaylee MacKenzie, a Grade 12 student at the Estevan Comprehensive School who has been the co-chair of the entertainment committee for a couple of years.

“This year she approached me and wanted to step up and take on more of a leadership role, and I'm looking forward to having her on board,” said Fisher.

MacKenzie's is one of several young people involved with the Estevan Relay's steering committee.

“The high school students are the ones who are directly involved with the Mini Relay as well, which is a huge event that has taken off in the last five years for the Relay for Life,” said Fisher. “It's really great to see the youth contributing in such a positive way.”

Relay organizers are still looking for committee members, particularly for the survivor and luminary committees.

This year's Relay will take place from 7 p.m. on June 8 to 7 a.m. on June 9 at the Civic Auditorium. The fundraising goal is $110,000, which is significantly more than the $62,000 that was raised last year.

“We're looking at changing a couple things, and getting a little bit more involvement than we had last year,” said Fisher.

They want to have more teams this year. The Relay has several dedicated teams, but they want to attract people who haven't been part of the all-night fundraiser previously.

“We'd certainly like to get people who have never experienced Relay for Life before – get them out there, and see the kind of inspiring, touching, moving and fun event that it actually is,” Fisher said.

This will be the third straight year in which the Relay will be held inside the Civic, and while there are challenges associated with having the event inside that facility, Fisher said it's a controlled environment, so it has its benefits.

Anyone who is interested in participating, or who wants to help out with the Relay, can call Fisher at 461-9751.