Walkers can Be HEROES and Stars!

(Ocean City, NJ) – An expected 1,000 walkers will have the chance to star in a new TV commercial being filmed at the 6^th Annual John R Elliott HERO Walk, Sunday, October 2, 11 a.m. on the Ocean City Boardwalk.

Actress and spokesperson Shelby Gribbin of Brigantine will be featured in the new “Be a HERO” TV spot, which will invite drivers of all ages to “Take the HERO Pledge,” and become designated drivers for their friends and families.  Before the walk, she and a camera crew will audition walk teams for the chance to join her in the commercial, to be shown on cable TV, You Tube and the HERO Campaign website.

Hundreds of students from Egg Harbor Township, Ocean City, Holy Spirit High School and Stockton University are forming teams for the HERO Walk, which benefits the John R. Elliott 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 15 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, 6^th Street and the Boardwalk.

Walkers can also pre-register online at www.theherowalk.org. For more information call (609) 626-3880

September 12, 2016 | Bill Elliott