Early on a breezy Sunday morning on April 30, more than 2,000 people of all ages and fitness levels bonded together in the ongoing fight against drunk driving during the 7th Annual MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) “Ultimate Software & Salah Foundation Present the La Croix, South Florida Ford & Florida Panthers Foundation Walk Like MADD & MADD Dash Fort Lauderdale 5K Brought to You by ADT and Allegiance Crane.”
More than $300,000 was raised this year, which will be used to to help support local education and advocacy initiatives to reduce the nearly 10,000 drunk driving-related annual deaths and 290,000 drunk driving-related injuries that are 100 percent preventable.
“Ultimate Software & Salah Foundation Presents the La Croix, South Florida Ford & Florida Panthers Foundation Walk Like MADD & MADD Dash Fort Lauderdale 5K Brought to You by ADT and Allegiance Crane” is MADD’s annual signature fundraising event, which takes place in over 60 cities in the U.S., including Fort Lauderdale. Since it was established in 2011, this event has raised more than $1.25 million for MADD Broward and Palm Beach, the most money raised by any MADD chapter.
The day’s festivities included children’s activities, an awards ceremony, live musical performances, vendor and educational booths, and appearances by local dignitaries, including Commissioner Chip LaMarca, Broward College President David Armstrong and Mayor Jack Seiler. Speakers were this year’s Honorary Chairperson Jim Robertson, CEO & president of Allegiance Crane, and Volunteer Chairperson and National Board Member Heather Geronemus of Ultimate Software, whose father, Dr. Robert Perry Geronemus, was struck and killed by a drunk driver in 2009.
“Each year, this event grows bigger and better,” said Geronemus. “We are thrilled and humbled by the outpouring of support we get from the entire community for this event, which raises funds to educate the South Florida community about the dangers of drunk driving as well as provide victim support and youth programs to put a halt to this completely preventable crime. This event is not just about the lives we’ve lost but those that we can save and those that we do save by coming together before tragedy occurs.”
In Florida in 2015, there were 797 drunk driving fatalities (.08 BAC or higher), representing 27 percent of all total traffic deaths. This figure represents a 14.8 percent increase from 2014. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, on average, two in three people will be involved in a drunk driving crash in their lifetime.
Event sponsors include Signature Sponsors Ultimate Software & The Salah Foundation; Title Sponsors La Croix Water, South Florida Ford & Florida Panthers Foundation, Presenting Sponsors Allegiance Crane and ADT Always Cares; and Corporate Champion Sponsors Broward Sheriff’s Foundation, Broward Sheriff’s Office, Broward Sheriff’s Advisory Council, Festival Flea Market, Greenspoon Marder, SunTrust, YellowCab, and UPS.
The next Annual Walk Like MADD & MADD Dash Fort Lauderdale 5K is scheduled for April 29, 2018 at Huizenga Plaza. Sponsorships are available. www.walklikemadd.org/fortlauderdale.
ABOUT MADD
Founded by a mother whose daughter was killed by a drunk driver, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is the nation’s largest nonprofit working to protect families from drunk driving and underage drinking. MADD also supports drunk and drugged driving victims and survivors at no charge, serving one person every nine minutes through local MADD victim advocates and at 1-877-MADD-HELP. In South Florida, the chapter’s annual Walk Like MADD & MADD Dash Fort Lauderdale 5K has raised more than $1 million since 2011. MADD’s Broward and Palm Beach chapters facilitate hundreds of free events each year to educate youth and parents on the dangers and consequences of impaired driving. Learn more at www.madd.org or by calling 1-877-ASK-MADD.
