ATHENS — Tuesday evening, Brad Ardner and his wife Laurie pulled into Applebee’s in Athens and found themselves in the middle of the annual City of Athens Relay for Life Celebrity Waiters Night.
The couple was headed back to Minnesota.
“I saw the waiters with the matching aprons and all the community excitement, and I finally figured out what was going on,” said Laurie Ardner, a 12-year breast cancer survivor. “This is wonderful.”
Athens Mayor Ronnie Marks was their Celebrity Waiter and explained each Celebrity Waiter was working for tips for the American Cancer Society: Community advocate Laverne Gilbert, Athens High Coach Cody Gross, Athens Band Director Ty Parker, East Limestone Band Director Jennifer Janzen, Athens Firefighter Brandon “Perm” Joyce, Fox 54 reporter Jasamine Byrd and Kathy Cothren’s daughter Sherie Prier.
Brad Ardner showed a tattoo on his arm, a pink break cancer awareness ribbon in honor of his wife. Marks asked if they travel through Athens often, and they said they do come through the area. He gave them a card and told them to come by City Hall next time, and he would treat them to coffee.
Before they headed on toward Minnesota, the couple left the mayor a generous tip and thanked this community for its efforts.
“That experience reminded all of us why we continue to support the fight against cancer,” Athens Relay for Life Team Captain Holly Hollman said. “Cancer can impact anyone, anytime, anywhere. This couple who has been impacted by cancer happened to stop in Athens on the night we were raising money to fight cancer. How special is that?”
This year’s event was held in memory of City Councilman Frank Travis and Kathy Cothren, both former Celebrity Waiters and Relay Team members. They died from cancer within weeks of each other last spring. The eight Celebrity Waiters who volunteered tonight along with support from the Applebee’s staff raised the most in tips for this event: $4,480.
The Applebee’s staff applauded when Hollman announced the total. One of the staff member’s father will have surgery for cancer in May.
“This is a great cause,” said Celebrity Waiter Jasamine Byrd, a reporter with Fox 54. “I’m honored I could help tonight.”
Kathy Cothren’s daughter, Sherie Prier, drew a crowd from Ardmore to support her in memory of her mom. Several members of Cothren’s family attended, and several friends of Travis came out to donate in his memory.
“We had a picture of Kathy and Frank at the event as a reminder, and then we heard all these stories from diners and Applebee’s staff who have been impacted by cancer,” Hollman said. “Then you see a community – the Athens and Limestone County community – come out and support fighting cancer, that’s inspiring.
“Kathy and Frank would be proud we set a new record tonight.”
Although Tuesday’s event wasn’t promoted as a competition between waiters, some of them still got spirited about raising the most. Marks, Prier and Gilbert were among the Top 3.
“We couldn’t have been as successful tonight without all of our Celebrity Waiters and the support of Applebee’s,” Hollman said. “The restaurant’s staff wore purple, the awareness color for all cancers, and they dealt with a large crowd for about three hours.
“Tonight, is just an example of why Athens and Limestone County are special.”
Don’t miss out!  Subscribe to our email newsletter to have all our smart stories delivered to your inbox.
