Courtesy photo
Tammy Johnson passes balloons to family members of Cindy Messimer at Cox Elementary School on Oct. 1. Messimer, a parent volunteer who helped with the school’s walking program, died of ovarian cancer in June, after school let out.
Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008 | midnight
Balloons with notes tied to them are released into the sky Oct. 1. The notes are addressed to Cindy Messimer, a parent volunteer at Cox Elementary, who died of cancer in June.
Students at David Cox Elementary School who signed up for the Miler's Club, the school's exercise program, on Oct. 1 had a chance to honor parent Cindy Messimer, as well.
Messimer was a mother and volunteer who came out every morning last year to help cheer the children on and punch their Miler's cards, where they keep track of the distances they run or walk, said Tammy Johnson, parent volunteer in charge of the club. Partially because of her help, the club was its most successful, with 99 students finishing more than 10 miles, 11 finishing more than 100 miles and one student finishing more than 200 miles.
In December, Messimer was diagnosed in the advanced stages of ovarian cancer and given only months to live. The diagnosis and her following treatments did not stop her from being active in the club through the end of the year, Johnson said. Messimer died in June, shortly after school ended.
"All through her chemo and everything, she was here every single morning," Johnson said. "The kids didn't know."
To celebrate her life, a picture collage was set out on the first day of school for the students to see. Additionally, the parents are working on donating a tree with a memorial plaque to be planted on the field near where the parents stand each morning waiting to punch cards.
Pink balloons were also available for each of the more than 100 students who showed up the first day. Each student was asked to write a thank-you note to attach to the balloon.
"In her honor we wanted to do something special," Johnson said. "We let the kids write thank-you notes and put them on the balloons, then we released them so they could reach her in heaven."
After releasing the balloons, the students began racking up their miles, officially beginning the 18th year of the club as students were cheered on by parents who eagerly waited to punch cards for each runner, jogger or walker.
Justin Cooper, now a third grader, was the only student to run more than 200 miles last year. His goal for this year is 300 miles.
"I did 100 in first grade and 200 in second grade, so I thought I would keep going," he said. "I just like to run."
Justin tries to do the Miler's Club every day and tries to focus on the fun, he said.
Frances Vanderploeg can be reached at 990-2660 or [email protected].
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