Relay for Life- Petaluma

Dream Team Volunteers

The 10th anniversary of Petaluma’s Relay for Life must also mark the long relationship between the American Cancer Society and two long-time, hometown volunteers.

The friendship and skills of Marilyn Herzog and Gail Nielsen are inextricably woven into Petaluma Relay’s existence. Their passion and dedication is the stitch on the fabric of the local volunteer community. And after 30 years of service, they continue to inspire other members of the community to continue its ongoing success.

With her upbeat personality and energy, Marilyn Herzog has always been involved with some form of volunteerism for the Petaluma community. With skills in sewing and fabric design, Marilyn has always had an interest in fashion and fashion design. So it was natural, with this love and passion, to begin her volunteer career by organizing fashion shows for the local PTA and Petaluma hospitals.

In 1978, she was inspired to join in the fight against cancer when she learned on television that the star quarterback for the University of California Berkeley Bears football team was stricken with leukemia. “I couldn’t believe this amazing athlete was struck down in his prime,” Marilyn says. With her husband’s encouragement she approached the American Cancer Society to do fashion shows to raise money for the cause. “It took nearly a year to get it approved. I had friends who went to bat for me and told the board that I was a good risk.” Thirty years, and many shows later, she is still an organizing force with the American Cancer Society.

Marilyn knew she needed help with the fashion shows and asked her good friend, Gail Nielsen, to join her in the planning and execution of the event. The two met while Gail was buying some fabric from Marilyn and they became good friends. Their shared love of sewing and community became a shared cause.

They were a dream team: Marilyn, the people person, used her contacts and sources to get custom-made clothing for the show and Gail, who is good with numbers, used her background in bookkeeping and accounting to take care of the business and financial end of the events. The fashion shows were wildly successful and became even more so when they changed the event to be a two-day affair adding a second evening event with a dinner and an auction. “That’s when we started making the bucks” said Marilyn. “We would net over $100,000 on those events.”

The two friends have also served the cause in the wider organizational realm of the American Cancer Society over the years. Marilyn started the local ACS unit in Petaluma and was its first president. She also helped develop the board of directors. In 1996, Marilyn was selected as income development volunteer for California by the American Cancer Society. She later became regional president for ACS, which covers western Northern California.

Want to learn more? Contact:
Nell K. Western
Co-Chair
2008 Petaluma Relay for Life
Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back.
www.events.cancer.org/rflpetalumaca