Two years ago, our community lost three young lives to terrible automobile accidents right here close to home. One of those students was Megan Preston . I was honored to have her family walk alongside mine yesterday during this year’s Okra Strut Parade.

Joining us were over 100 local high school students. Several walked, rode, or distributed candy to the crowd – all while displaying Alive@25 on the back of their tshirts!

Our walk was a continued effort to promote Alive@25 in our community. As a believer that God has a plan for everything in life, I have seen how the loss of those students two years ago has led to hundreds of other young students learning how to better prepare themselves before getting behind the wheel.

Dutch Fork High School Teacher Kelly Payne has worked with the South Carolina Chapter of the National Safety Council to bring Alive@25 to Lexington/Richland School District Five.

in the past two years, there have been several events locally to promote and encourage our children to participate. Later this month (October 30), the second-annual semi-formal dinner by the South CarolinaNational Safety Council will benefit the “Alive@25 Coalition”. Please help us continue to raise awareness that vehicle crashes are the #1 killer of people between the ages of 16 and 24.

I hope you will purchase tickets or considering sponsoring this year’s event by calling Brooke Russell at 732-6778.