Great Adventure to host Race for the Cure in Oct. "We are thrilled with our new location and anticipate our constituents will continue their support of the Race for the Cure... ." - Nancy Healey BY DAVE BENJAMIN Staff Writer JACKSON - There is a new partnership in south central New Jersey. "Today we launch our new name, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and our new logo," said Nancy Healey, executive director of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Central and South New Jersey Affiliate, Lawrence-ville. "But more importantly for New Jersey, we are thrilled to announce we are moving the Race for the Cure to Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, where it will take place Oct. 14." The Race for the Cure raises funds for breast cancer research. Healey said as the race grew - reaching 14,000 participants in 2006 and more than 30 corporate sponsors - its founders explored new sites at which to hold the event within the service area, which stretches from Middlesex County in central New Jersey to Cape May County in the southern end of the state. As it turned out, Jackson had exactly what was needed. "Great Adventure, centrally located within the 13-county service area and easily accessible from Interstate 195, seemed like the logical choice," Healey said. "Great Adventure is a well-known destination, easily accessible, and the perfect location to manage the logistics of the Race for the Cure as it continues to attract growing numbers of participants. Its management thought so, too." Six Flags Great Adventure President Mark Kane said he is pleased to welcome the event. "Six Flags Great Adventure and Wild Safari, America's largest regional theme park and largest drive-through safari outside of Africa, is honored to host the foremost event seeking a cure for breast cancer in the state," Kane said. Since 1999, the Race for the Cure, the largest 5-kilometer event in the state, was held at the corporate campus of Bristol-Myers Squibb in Lawrenceville, Mercer County. "Bristol-Myers Squibb is a true and loyal friend to Susan G. Komen," Healey said. "A corporate sponsor before be-coming the race's host site for the past eight years, Bristol-Myers Squibb will continue to partner with Komen in our fight against breast cancer as we move forward." Healey said Six Flags Great Adven-ture, like Bristol-Myers Squibb, is a name New Jersey residents know. "We're most fortunate to have forged this new partnership," Healey said. "We embrace our new home with enthusiasm because the Women's Club of Westlake, another Jackson landmark, has paved the path for us with their continued generous support for the cure." Healey said the women's club of the Westlake adult community has welcomed the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, just as Great Adventure has. "We are thrilled with our new location and anticipate our constituents will continue their support of the Race for the Cure at our new venue with typical enthusiasm and dedication," said Healey. "How can we not be pleased to know that breast cancer, a disease that touches all of us, will still be attacked with vigor and commitment next October in Jackson." More than $12 million has been put back into the communities of the 13 counties that make up the service area of Susan G. Komen for the Cure Central and South Jersey. Since 1994 when the first Race for the Cure drew 1,200 participants, until 2006 when more than 14,000 people ran at Bristol-Myers Squibb, the race has been a familiar event in New Jersey each October. For more information visit the Internet Web site www.komencsnj.org or call (609) 896-1201.