Two Miss-Lou groups have showed us this weekend exactly how you go about creating a successful project: Working together.

The local Relay for Life event, in its 10th year, achieved a major milestone by the time tired participants headed home early Saturday morning: They raised more than $1 million for the past decade.

That’s a fairly amazing achievement for our small community, especially when you consider how successful the Miss-Lou event is compared to those in larger cities.

The money that Relay for Life teams raised in the Miss-Lou will not only help fight cancer, it will pay for support programs for those who are living with the disease, including programs right here at home.

On Saturday morning, those who hadn’t stayed up all night at the Relay &045; and maybe even some who had &045; fanned out across town to help pick up trash in the first project undertaken by the Vision Natchez group.

Organized into teams of as few as two people, the volunteers spread out across Natchez to beautify the community, by picking up trash and planting flowers.

Vision Natchez chose a project it could accomplish in just a month’s time, and the beautification work was a great start. We hope it will continue to inspire residents to keep the community looking good.

Both of these projects had one key component: No one person &045; in fact, no one team &045; could accomplish the goal on their own.

Both projects required a massive group effort and dedication from volunteers committed to a cause that will benefit the entire community.

We’re proud to see both of these group achieve success &045; and know they will continue with that success in the future as long as they continue to work together.