CLARK, NJ — The third annual “Remembering Michael T. Sot HERO Walk” is scheduled for the morning of Saturday, June 10, at Arthur L. Johnson High School in Clark. The walk is dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of safe and sober designated drivers and to celebrate Michael’s life.
The Sot family honors Michael’s memory, and his commitment to designated driving, by working with the John R. Elliott HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers to ensure other families don’t experience their pain and loss.
“We are so grateful to Michael’s family and event coordinator Julia Sapia for partnering with the HERO Campaign to hold the Remembering Michael T. Sot HERO Walk for the third year,” said Bill Elliott, chairperson of the HERO Campaign. “As a stand-out baseball player and member of the National Honor Society, Michael was regarded as someone who his Clark High School classmates, family and friends could depend on to do the right thing. Even after his passing, Michael’s legacy of service to others as a designated driver continues to inspire others.”
The goal of the HERO Campaign, named in honor of John R. Elliott, a graduate of the Naval Academy who was killed in a collision with a drunk driver in 2000, is to end drunk driving tragedies through the promotion and use of safe and sober designated drivers.
Registration, $25 per adult and $15 per student, begins at 10 a.m. and a Remembering Michael ceremony takes place at 10:45 a.m., just before the start of the walk. All proceeds from the event support the HERO Campaign’s mission to promote the use of safe and sober designated drivers.
Sot was a 20-year-old sophomore at The College of New Jersey, when he pledged to remain sober one Saturday night in early December of 2018 and safely transport his Phi Kappa Psi fraternity brothers to a party. He made about two dozen trips as a designated driver that night before his vehicle was struck at 2 a.m. by a drunk driver. Sot and his five passengers were injured in the crash. They survived, but he succumbed to his injuries two days later.
In Sot’s memory, the public is encouraged to visit p2p.onecause.com/michael-sot-2023 to register to participate as an individual, to start or join a team, or to donate to a walk participant or team to help end drunk driving.
In addition to the walk, supporters can take the HERO Pledge to be and use designated drivers, and enjoy music, an auction, face-painting and balloon sculptures for the children.
Photo Courtesy of Christine Casale Broski