With summer quickly approaching, my thoughts are already turning to the beautiful Alabama Gulf Coast and the time my husband and I are set to spend there later this year.

With our week at the beach still months away, though, I have to satisfy my longing for the beach elsewhere.

One way I plan on doing so is by eating plenty of fresh Louisiana crawfish at the April 30 Crawdaddies for a Cause event the Shelby County Reporter is sponsoring along with Grey Bar and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

I love seafood, especially with sausage, potatoes and all the fixings, and I’m looking forward to my first time hearing the local Hunter Lawley Band at Grey Bar.

Of course, the best thing about the event is that my $25 will go to a great cause — helping Shelby County Commissioner Corley Ellis in his quest to become the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Man of the Year. Corley can only win that honor by raising the most money among the nominees for the fight against cancer before May 12.

Every dollar raised at the event will count as one vote for Corley, who has a personal stake in this fight. His best friend, Scott Armstrong, was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, or cancer of the blood, in 2005. He went through chemotherapy and was in remission until January 2008, when the cancer came back.

Scott had to go to Duke University to go through a stem cell transplant, a new procedure. Corley was with Scott when he went to Duke, and he brought Scott home after the procedure was complete. Their friendship lives on to this day.

At some point in my life, I know I will deal with cancer in some way. Whether I fight against it personally or watch a loved one battle with the disease, there will come a day when cancer makes its own impact on my existence.

When that day comes, I want to know I have done what I could to help further cancer research. And if I get to eat crawfish, sausage and potatoes and listen to live music while helping the cause, then that’s just the definition of a win-win situation.

The event is from 3-7 p.m. at Grey Bar April 30. For more information visit Crawdaddiesforacause.com or call 669-3131.

Amy Jones is the associate editor for the Shelby County Reporter. She can be reached at 669-3131 ext. 30 or by email at amy.jones@shelbycountyreporter.com.