The American Cancer Society has established a new program designed to challenge Relay For Life fundraisers to engage in the fight against cancer in a new and very dynamic way that focuses on the American Cancer Society's award-winning research program.

The Relay For Life Hero of Research Award was established to offer qualifying teams an opportunity to name an existing extramural research Grant in honor of a loved one or their team. This Grant is then active for 3 years once it has been identified. For 2017, all teams that raise more then $165,000, which is the amount of a fully granted fund,will have the option to name an already approved Grant. The captain of the Relay For Life team will have the opportunity to meet with the researcher to learn about the specific research grant and will be kept abreast of all developments with the Grant.

The Nancy Valenkamph Cancer Foundation is proud to announce that its Relay For Life team, Team Valenkamph, was one of 8 relay for life teams in the World who were picked for this program. The Foundation has picked the Nancy Valenkamph Cancer Foundation and Golf Outings as the name for the Hero for Research Grant. It was very important for the Foundation to recognize all of the golfers, workers, sponsors, committee members and donators who made this total possible. We will be working with Dr. Erica C Pehrsson at Washington University, St. Louis on this Grant. The Nancy Valenkamph Cancer foundation is very excited to be involved with this research.