American Legion Post 200 to Host ‘Urban Dare’ April 27 to Benefit Cancer Patient Blakely Koenig

21-Month-Old Battling B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Blakely Koenig, a precious 21-month-old child, was diagnosed, 26 days after her first birthday, with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. American Legion Post 200 in Satellite Beach will be hosting a fundraiser on April 27, 2025, starting at 1 p.m. to support Blakely in her fight. For those that are unable to attend, but would like to support Blakely, you may Venmo direct to the family at Megan-Koenig321 or, for the gofundme account, CLICK HERE.

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Sunday, April 27, 2025, at 1 p.m., the American Legion Post 200, 105 Ocean Blvd., Satellite Beach, Florida, will get behind and support 21-month-old cancer patient, Blakely Koenig, with what some may call a motorcycle/car race. Post 200 calls it Urban Dare.

Post Commander Mary Overton described Urban Dare, telling me, “It’s a fun afternoon and it is essentially a scavenger hunt where a set of clues is given to each two-person team to find around the Satellite and Indian Harbour Beach area.

The teams must prove that they found each item by providing a photo of the item with them in the picture. In addition, they have to provide video proof of them performing five dares.

It is a race, so whichever team returns the quickest with proof of all the items identified and five dares performed wins.” Urban Dare starts at 1 p.m.

The entry cost is $10 per person. Early sign-up starts on Friday, April 25th. Registration on Sunday begins at 11:30 a.m., with the race starting at 1 p.m. All teams must report back to Post 400 by 4 p.m.

After the vehicles return to the Post, there will be live music, food, a 50/50 raffle and much more!

For those that are unable to attend, but would like to support Blakely in her fight, you may Venmo direct to the family at Megan-Koenig321 or, for the gofundme account, CLICK HERE.

A MESSAGE FROM BLAKELY’S MOM AND DAD

“Your daughter has cancer.” As a parent, those are words you would never expect to hear. Unfortunately, on August 14th, these words weren’t just a fear; they became a reality. Our daughter, Blakely, had just celebrated her first birthday surrounded by friends and family. Twenty-six days later, our lives were turned upside down.

After taking Blakely to the pediatrician for abnormal bruising, we were told to pack a bag and head to the ER immediately. From there, Blakely was airlifted to AdventHealth Children’s Hospital, where her oncologist informed us that she had been diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

We were given little time to process the terrible news before nurses came in to begin the time-sensitive blood and platelet transfusions. This marked the beginning of many transfusions, chemotherapy treatments, and sedated procedures.

Watching your daughter be put to sleep or pumped full of chemotherapy is something we will never get used to; it is heartbreaking and an indescribable feeling.

Having a child with cancer is the worst thing you can ever imagine. The rollercoaster of emotions never ends, and each day we spend holding our breath. The good days give you hope and a glimmer of everyday life.

But the bad days remind us that our baby is fighting for her life. It takes every bit of strength to assure her that everything is okay, and this won’t last forever. We try to stay positive for her, but any happiness brings an immediate wave of guilt.

Why do we deserve to be happy? Our days are consumed with remembering when to give medication and obsessing over taking her temperature because any sign of a fever means a trip to the emergency room. Our nights are reserved for the praying and crying we couldn’t bear to let her see during the day.

We are blessed to know our prayers are being answered; she has been responding well to all of her treatments so far. She has remained negative for cancer cells detected in both her bone marrow and cerebrospinal fluid.

This is a long and hard road, but we couldn’t have done it without the support of our family, friends, and our entire village. We are incredibly grateful for the outpouring of love, support, and prayers we receive every day. This journey is nowhere near over, but our sweet warrior is a fighter and the strongest girl we know. She WILL beat this.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Steve Wilson was born in DeRidder, Louisiana and grew up in both New Orleans and Macon, Georgia.  He moved to Brevard County in 1984 and retired from local government as the Community Advocate/Assistant to the City Manager with the City of Rockledge in 2018.

Among the awards and accolades Steve has received over the years are 15 + year Rockledge Little League volunteer, Brevard Public School Jefferson Award Recipient, Rockledge High School Raider Booster Award 2001, 2006, City of Rockledge Employee of the Year 2006, Rockledge Kiwanian of the Year 2006-2007, City of Rockledge Quality Public Service Award 2008, 2012, 2017, Rockledge Kiwanis Citizen of the Year 2012-2013, Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame – Sportscasting 2015, Rockledge High School Leadership and Service Award 2016, Central Florida Humanitarian Award 2017, Space Coast Inspiration Award – 2018,  Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame – Lifetime Achievement – 2020, Ecofest Achievement Award – 2022, Quality Floridian Award – 2022, presented by U.S. Congressman Bill Posey.

Wilson is especially proud of his chairing two fundraisers in support of pediatric cancer research through the St. Baldrick’s Foundation in honor of Merritt Island resident Julie Spurlock that raised over $25,000.00.

He has been a partner, along with Orville Susong, for the past 26 years with the Friday Night Locker Room, a broadcasting team that covers and reports on a wide variety of local events that are of significance to the residents of the Space Coast and beyond. Their mission is to promote youth sports, support first responders and law enforcement personnel, and showcase community and charitable events that are produced by our nonprofit partners in central Florida.

The Friday Night Locker Room has awarded hundreds of sports achievement plaques to Brevard County student-athletes over the years. They have also awarded more than $18,000 in academic scholarships to Brevard County high school seniors.

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