The 2012 fund raising campaign for the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life of Wilson County will get underway on Thursday, Feb. 23, at 5:30 p.m., as event volunteers and participants gather at Lochinvar for a kickoff celebration.

The kickoff will be an opportunity for anyone interested in joining the cancer fight to register a team for the 2012 Relay For Life. The event will also feature guest speaker Ronnie Lawson, a local cancer survivor.

Lochinvar is located at 300 Maddox Simpson Pkwy., Lebanon.

The 2011 Relay For Life of Wilson County raised more than $95,000 for the American Cancer Society. The ACS currently contributes more than $7.3 million to cancer research in Tennessee, much of which takes place here in Middle Tennessee at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Relay For Life of Wilson County is scheduled for Friday, June 22, beginning at 6 p.m.  Relay will take place at Castle Heights track near Wilson Bank & Trust in Lebanon.

The world’s largest grassroots fund raising movement, Relay For Life mobilizes communities throughout the country to celebrate people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost and provide participants with an opportunity to fight back against the disease. Relay For Life brings together people from all walks of life to further the American Cancer Society’s vision of creating a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

Relay For Life began in 1985 with one man who walked and ran around a track for 24 hours and raised $27,000 for the American Cancer Society. Each year, Relay For Life takes place in 5,000 communities in the United States and 20 other countries to raise funds to support the Society’s mission of saving lives by helping people stay well, by helping people get well, by finding cures and by fighting back.

To join Relay For Life of Wilson County or get more information, call 470-1304, or visit RelayForLife.org/wilson.