By MADDY VITALE
Some people attended the John R. Elliott HERO Campaign Walk and 1-Mile Fun Run to support those who have lost loved ones. Others came to remember those who died at the hands of drunken drivers and to support the family that created the HERO Campaign to try to prevent others from getting “that call.”
Bill and Muriel Elliott, of Egg Harbor Township, have dedicated two decades of their lives to keep their son Navy Ensign John Elliott’s memory alive. John was killed in 2000 by a drunken driver in Salem County.
A memory banner displayed the pictures of more than 20 area residents who have lost their lives to drunk and impaired driving tragedies.
“This banner says it all,” Bill Elliott said at a ceremony prior to the walk. “Those are the people who didn’t make it. You never want to get that call.”
More than 400 walkers gathered on the Ocean City Boardwalk on Sunday for the annual event. A target goal of $80,000 was set to help fund educational and awareness programs about the dangers of drunken driving and the importance of using sober, designated drivers.
Bill Ade, of Galloway Township, lost his son, Kevin, to a drunken driver in April of 2007. Kevin, 19, was an Absegami High School graduate pursuing a career in communications and attending Atlantic Cape Community College.
Fourteen years have passed, but Kevin’s loved ones — from his Aunt Patty and Uncle John Ade Jr., of Galloway, to his cousins — make it a point each year to be a part of the HERO walk along with Bill Ade.
“I think it is important to support the Elliotts and what they do,” Bill Ade said.
Kelly Ade, of Mays Landing, began to weep as she spoke of the loss of her cousin.
“I know it was so long ago, but it still is hard. We all were close, and we still have to deal with it,” she said.
On Sunday, the family gathered in front of a large HERO banner for a group photo in their continued effort to keep Kevin Ade’s memory alive.
Nancy Moore, of Ramsey, N.J., stood with her son, Ryan, 24, and viewed the memory banner. She wept.
Ryan was in the car with his friends when they were hit by a drunken driver in December of 2018. The designated driver, Michael Sot, was killed in the crash.
“Ryan could have been on the banner,” Nancy Moore said with tears in her eyes as she hugged her son.
The family, including Ryan’s father, Eric Moore, and younger brother, Patrick Moore, 21, attended the HERO walk.
Patrick helped out Sunday with the event. “The HERO Campaign is what it is all about. My family has been affected personally by a drunken driver. I want to help out the campaign however I can,” he said.
The event also featured a display of HERO patrol cars from police departments throughout South Jersey. The cars were wrapped with the HERO Campaign’s blue and yellow logo and the message, “Be a HERO. Be a Designated Driver.”
John Elliott was heading to his parents’ house in Egg Harbor Township for his mother’s birthday when he was killed by a drunk driver on July 22, 2000, in a head-on crash in Upper Pittsgrove Township, Salem County. It was just two months after he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy.
His death inspired Bill and Muriel Elliott to form the HERO Campaign, a nonprofit that advocates for the use of designated drivers to take people home after they have been drinking. The HERO acronym stands for Human Education Resources Officer, a top honor and prestigious mentoring position that was given to John Elliott during his senior year at the Naval Academy.
The annual HERO walk in Ocean City is a major fundraiser for the campaign. It was canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bill Elliott said Sunday was proof that people are getting back to normal, support the HERO Campaign and continue to send a strong message about driving sober, the importance of a designated driver and to keep the memories alive of those who died as a result of a drunken driver.
“It is very gratifying seeing the people here still supporting us after all of these years,” he said.
