Looking for 100,000 HEROES to Save Lives

More than 1,000 walkers will toss their hats in the air to mark the 15th Anniversary of the John R. Elliott HERO Campaign on Sunday, October 4 on the Ocean City Boardwalk.

The “Hats off to HEROES” promotion will kick off the 5th Annual HERO Walk benefitting the HERO Campaign and its mission to preventing drunk driving by promoting the use of safe and sober designated drivers. The event is also part of the campaign’s 100,000 HEROES Challenge in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, with the goal of having 100,000 people take the HERO pledge to be or use designated drivers whenever alcoholic beverages are consumed.

The HERO Campaign was established by the family of Navy Ensign John Elliott of Egg Harbor Township, NJ. Ensign Elliott was killed in a July, 2000 collision with a drunken driver, two months after graduating from the United States Naval Academy. John was traveling from Annapolis, MD to his home at the Jersey Shore for his mother’s birthday celebration at the time of his death.

The HERO Campaign has grown from a local cause into a national movement that has been adopted by seven states from Boston, Mass. to Louisville, Kentucky. The organization uses highway billboards, TV and radio commercials, and educational programs to promote its message, “Be a HERO. Be a Designated Driver,” in partnership with schools and colleges, law enforcement, highway safety agencies, Major League Baseball and NFL teams, NASCAR, Churchill Downs and Keeneland race courses, and bars and taverns.

Over the past decade, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and other states have seen a marked decline in DUI fatalities, due in part to the efforts of the HERO Campaign.

“We are proud of the positive results and the overwhelming support for the HERO Campaign over the past 14 years,” stated HERO Campaign founder and Chairman Bill Elliott. “John would have accomplished great things had he lived; now thousands of lives can be saved in his memory. This truly is his living legacy.”

Registration for the HERO Walk begins at 9 a.m. at Ocean City Recreation Center, 6th Street and the Boardwalk. Walkers can also pre-register online at www.theherowalk.org. For more information call (609) 626-3880

September 24, 2015  |  Ocean City, NJ