Annual HERO Walk returns to Ocean City, NJ
Ocean City, N.J. – The John R. Elliott HERO Campaign will host its 11th HERO Walk and 1-Mile Fun Run on Sunday, October 16, 2022 at the Ocean City Sports and Civic Center, located at 6th Street and the Boardwalk. Hundreds of supporters, along with families who have lost loved ones to drunk driving, are expected for the walk-run event.
The walk starts at 11 a.m. A one-mile fun run, sponsored by the Foster-Karney Foundation, begins at 10 a.m., and registration begins at 9:00 a.m. Participants can pre-register individually or as a team at HEROcampaign.org.
The HERO Campaign was established by the family of Navy Ensign John Elliott of Egg Harbor Twp., NJ, after he was killed in a collision with a drunk driver near Woodstown in July 2000, two months after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy, where he was named the Outstanding HERO of his graduating class.
An award ceremony for top teams will be held at 10:30 am, along with a moment of silence for DUI victims and their families. A memory banner will display the pictures of numerous victims who have lost their lives to drunk driving tragedies.
This year’s event features a display of HERO patrol cars from police departments throughout South Jersey, which serve as rolling billboards for the campaign as they are wrapped with the HERO Campaign’s blue and yellow logo and safety message, “Be a HERO. Be a Designated Driver.” Sponsors of this year’s HERO Walk include Fabietti, Hale, Hammerstedt & Powers, PA; Honda USA Foundation; Michael Sot Team; Iron Workers Local 399; Team Matt Uhl; Kramer Beverage; Uber; Bayshore Rebar Inc.; Dallas and Di Krapf; Michael Azeez Foundation; AtlantiCare; Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Atlantic City; ShopRite; The John Scarpa Foundation; Glenn Insurance; Carpenters Local 255; Mary Anne Kull; Borgata; ClearChannel Outdoor; IBEW Local 351; Sharon Grunow; Stockton University; Miss Night in Venice Pageant; NJM Insurance Group; Outfront Media; Icona Resorts; Anchorage Tavern; Ocean City PBA; EASRCC Brotherhood of Carpenters; Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Union of NJ; and OceanFirst Bank
About the HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers:
The HERO Campaign was established by the family of Navy Ensign John Elliott of Egg Harbor Township, NJ, who was killed in a July 2000 collision with a drunken driver two months after graduating from the United States Naval Academy. The Campaign is now saving lives in seven states in partnership with law enforcement; schools and colleges; federal and state highway safety organizations; the licensed beverage industry; professional sports teams including the Philadelphia Phillies, the New York Football Giants, and the New England Patriots; Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby; and Keeneland Race Course, home of the 2015 Breeder’s Cup. Since its inception in 2000, the HERO Campaign has grown into a major grassroots movement to prevent impaired driving that has received national recognition and awards. It has also helped to reduce alcohol-related fatalities and incidents, including a 20 percent reduction in DUI fatalities in New Jersey and other states over the past decade. For more information visit HEROcampaign.org or call 609-626-3880.
