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newsletter may 2009 issue two ­ vol i in loving memory of ted burns aka satiek pictured here with wife leslie burns june 15 1957 ­ august 18 2008 a letter to our supporters welcome to the second edition of the team burns newsletter in this issue you will find information on how our organization began as well as some exciting news about things our group has been doing in and around the community this quarter we invite you to meet some of the members of our team up close and personal and invite you to join our team by doing what you can in your city and with your family and friends although we have only been in existence since september of 2008 we have accomplished a lot since our inception the main goal of our group is to raise money for the american cancer society and to increase awareness about the importance of testing for this disease we are still going strong and have much more planned so stay tuned and please do what you can to support our good work in any way you can thank you to all who participated already and we look forward to working with all of you who will assist us in coming months with warmest regards,

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so you ask how did team burns get started leslie burns reporter announcements congratulations to the following members for accepting the newly created positions as they are clearly demonstrating leadership skills to all who know them team burns is a non-profit group inspired by the life of the late ted burns a beloved husband and father who lost his battle to colon cancer after a year long fight in august 2008 his warm personality and kind soul is the basis of our group s formation our mission is to advocate for cancer awareness and raise money for research we see this as easily attainable through participation in events hosted by the american cancer society acs such as the acs summit and relay for life this year we ve set a goal of raising $10,000 for the acs in less than six months after the loss of their father ted burns children also lost their grandmother martha anne thompson to lung cancer the members of team burns are now more determined than ever to meet their goals for acs robert burns vice president director of public relations bonnie hardy ­ treasurer andrea roberts artistic director myasia burns ­ administrative director ashley andrews ­ administrative assistant financial report we would like to thank blockbuster video stores in georgia for supporting team burns and the acs collection cans were placed in 16 stores and from those cans we collected $341.82 at the monroe area high school hurricane players drama production why we sing we generated $45 for team burns and the acs chocolate chocolate everywhere ­ team burns held its first candy sale taking orders from brochures and selling candy bars thanks to wolfgang candy in pennsylvania for getting our order to us accurate and on time as it enabled us to net $110 for the team thanks lisa clarnetta van and ronald for your help to date we have raised $6,424.82 for the acs as of december 27 2008 team burns has raised over $3,516 through bake sales tshirt and awareness bracelet sales at our first bake sale we raised over $550 and at the walton county relay on october 3 4 team burns raised over $800 in one night though team burns began solely as a relay for life group we are passionate about raising money for cancer awareness as well as raising awareness about the disease and the importance of early testing and access to resources.

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just a few of the members of team burns who is nykki starr rebekah washington and tajshmon brooks reporters nykki heads up the drama department at monroe area high school and works with the hurricane players he is also the director of young voices united an independent group of performers and continues to write direct and perform in and around the atlanta area he is a mentor for many young people and has helped to influence the lives of many nykki has first hand experience as a caregiver as he has a very close bond with his mother who is currently living with colon cancer when asked what he sees as the future of team burns he would like to see the group to reach full non-profit status with a 501c3 designation and to be in a position to receive grant money there is no question about the impact relay for life has had on him as he has walked around the clock at relay for many years and encourages everyone to come out join the fight back against cancer movement how did i get involved in relay written by ariana taylor i got involved with relay at school when i heard that the father of one of my classmates had passed away from lung cancer within a few weeks of his death i heard that this group team burns was holding a meeting at our school and looking for people who would want to volunteer when i went to my first relay i was really touched by the luminary ceremony and all the survivors who walked around the track for me this is a feel good experience in knowing that i am helping to find a cure look for the spotlight each quarter to find out who the faces of the team are and a little about each of us in the next issue look for info on bonnie hardy t jay brooks and myasia burns if you haven t already seen our website please go in and check it out and sign be sure to sign the guestbook www.teamburns.org

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groups accept the challenge and come together for this historic event we are so proud ourselves to quote one of the more than 500 audience members this show was amazing the accidentals of uga co-hosted the show with us and did a phenomenal job everyone thought they stole the show and they weren t even competing it must have been their tuxedos the groups arrived throughout the day and were excited to participate in the event many of the performers have personally been affected by cancer and have lost family members they all had personal stories to share but overwhelmingly we found that our common bond was wanting to do something to make a difference wow we did it we hosted our very first concert what a show you ask what is springsing this was a huge concert that took months of planning from a group of ordinary individuals it started out as a small idea that grew into something really big this was our first really big event and it featured some of the best a cappella groups in the nation it was a lot of hard work but paid off in the end with the help of a beautiful facility we had the space to invite many performers from around the country to come and join us to raise money for the american cancer society we sent out an invitation to professional groups as well as colleges up and down the east coast in the end we had over nine different after registration the groups all set-up for sound-checks at 5 pm everyone participated in a buffet dinner and some awards and acknowledgements were noted there were also a few questions last minute announcements and a random drawing was held to determine the order of performance just after 7 pm the accidentals opened the show with an energetic rendition of stevie wonder s classic don t you worry about a thing the first half of the show was a competition and the following groups participated georgia tech sympathetic vibrations georgia tech infinite harmony florida state all night yahtzee university of georgia with someone else s money university of georgia ­ noteworthy all of the groups did a great job and kept the audience on edge choosing their favorites the the accidentals

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judges were watching carefully and had to make decisions rapidly as each of the competing groups were limited to three songs during intermission the judges score-cards were tallied and the winner s names were placed beside the trophies and awards the show continued with a bold performance from the accidentals and then on to our two pro groups on saturday at the university of georgia prestigious hugh hodgson s school of music our pros taught vocal training workshops and master classes participants went from class to class and learned everything from stage presence to arranging songs to fit the voices within their groups congratulations to all the groups who competed and those who took home prizes competition prizes were awarded as follows first place winners florida state all night yahtzee $1,000 cash prize and trophy second place univ of ga noteworthy $500 cash prize and trophy third place univ of ga with someone else s money $250 cash prize and trophy special award winners best arrangement awarded to dave girtman for lithium all night yahtzee fsu best choreography noteworthy uga best vocal percussion paul kozien for the district sleeps alone tonight sympathetic vibrations georgia tech best solo andrew leonard for happy ending infinite harmony georgia tech big thanks go to shane fuhrman musical director and cooper kitching business manager for the accidentals shane your ideas and input helped us to shape the plans for the event and we are grateful to all of your group for their participation in t-shirt day and ticket sales cooper your support from the start was invaluable special thanks go out to jason ardell and steve ryan of breakdown band for their leadership on the technical side of the house although extenuating circumstances prevented their group from performing they still participated in the show in a very big way and we could not have done it without them thanks again guys another huge thanks goes out to our great sponsors chick fil-a they provided all of the food for the workshop participants on business as usual traveled from upstate ny and ct just to perform it was a real pleasure to see their unique style and strong vocals jonathan minkoff chris chatham diana preisler and marty gasper are the world famous headliners blue jupiter blue jupiter rocked the house with almost an hour of power their performance was dynamic and colorful and it wowed the crowd.

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saturday it was hot and delicious thank you very much the event was fabulous and everyone who attended had a great time music was great and the program had lots of diversity thanks to all of the performers and supporters who made this event a success by coming out to sing for a cure we would like to thank all of our friends and family who attended the show both locally and those who traveled great distances by car and train to be here thanks to all of our supporters who could not attend the show but who bought tickets to support the event anyway thanks to reginald and anne harris from philadelphia pa who bought a block of tickets for cancer survivors and their caregivers to enjoy thanks to ernestine diggs from waldorf md who also eagerly bought several tickets the moment she heard about the show we want to say thank you to want to let you know that together we raised $1,500 for the acs and have changed history thank you all team burns members and volunteers for all of your hard work you made everyone feel welcome and made it all look very easy be sure to look at the team burns website or facebook pages for more pictures from the event how can i help you ask our team is comprised of many young people and we want to encourage their efforts and civic pride help us to keep them engaged by showing them that you support what we are doing there are many ways you can help if you live in georgia or are traveling in our area we invite you to come and support us at events throughout the year if you are outside of georgia we ask you to send a check using the attached i would like to donate form or you can make a donation on-line at acs relay walton county site which you can get to through our website www.teamburns.org or you can purchase the merchandise we offer through our website if you do any of these things then you are contributing to cancer research and helping our team if you have already donated let me thank you for your kindness and ask you to let that time be the first time but not the last time you contribute remember that any funds you give are 100 tax deductible from the irs because you are donating to the american cancer society no matter how you do it please know that we appreciate anything you can give and are anxious to put your donations to work thanks in advance from team burns

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survivor s kit in this section of the newsletter we discuss resources that every patient and caregiver should know part of team burns mission is to raise awareness and to make sure that those who have specific needs get assistance in getting those needs met although we are not a foundation yet and cannot offer direct financial assistance we can let you know about programs that are available we are a resource for you and will make sure that you have the most up to date information in every newsletter the most valuable tool we can place in today s survivor s kit is the telephone number for the american cancer society anyone can call for any reason 7 days a week 24 hours a day they are there to answer your questions give you referrals calm your fears and help in any way you need they have helped people fill prescriptions when they have run out in the middle of the night they have provided patients with gas cards to get them to and from doctor s appointments people with specific conditions have received grant money for medical bills co-pays and for a wide variety of medical equipment the american cancer society has dedicated professionals available to talk with you about anything you want or need to know so call them if you need to at the following number 1-800-acs 2345 upcoming events may 2009 ­ ma ma s day care computer learning center dedication ceremony to ted burns anyone in the philadelphia area is invited to visit and participate june 8 2009 ­ team burns parents and new member night july 2009 ­ applebee s night or other fundraiser august 2009 relay 2009-2010 kick ­off party in georgia new chapters established in pa and nc ­ celebratory party in upcoming issues we will have more feature stories about how relay for life money is used in our communities and additional resources available for survivors caregivers and their families your comments are important to us so if there are things you loved or didn t please write to us and let us know please also let us know of other things you would like to see or know about or suggestions of things we can do to expand our reach we ve already heard from a couple of you please keep the ideas coming.

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contact leslie burns email teamburns2008@gmail.com website www.teamburns.org home 770 267-1272 usps mail p.o box 714 monroe ga 30655 individual donation form ­ please complete and return to us yes i want to contribute to team burns and the american cancer society ­ amount checks should be made payable to team burns yes i would like to purchase team burns logo items as follow description spring sing t-shirt white spring sing t-shirt yellow spring sing t-shirt blue spring sing t-shirt lilac spring sing program book poster pink breast cancer magnetic car ribbon pink awareness bracelet yellow awareness bracelet white awareness bracelet blue awareness bracelet blue awareness bracelet black awareness bracelet support our troops green black camouflage support our troops desert tan camouflage purple relay for life bracelet circle size s m l xl xxl youth xl adult s m l youth xl adult s m l youth xl adult s m l price ea $7 $7 $7 $7 $5 quantity total cost n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a $3.50 $2.50 $2.50 $2.50 $2.50 $2.50 $2.50 $2.50 $2.50 $2.50 prices above include tax shipping handling total your name phone street address city state zip email please add any comments on the back of this form and any other people that should be added to the mailing list for future newsletters if they have an email address be sure to include that too total amount of check enclosed thank you for your support you can also find additional information about us on facebook by looking for team burns relay for life or www.myspace.com/teamburnsfightsback

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