Lace up your shoes, it's time to Walk Like MADD

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- The Southeast Texas Affiliate of Mothers Against Drunk Driving is hosting its Walk Like MADD in The Woodlands at Northshore Park on October 5. Approximately 500 to 800 walkers and runners are expected to course through the shaded bike paths of the village of Panther Creek, raising awareness about drunk driving and celebrating loved ones' lives that were cut short by drunk driving.

Sponsored by Milstead Automotive, Nationwide Insurance and Yellow Cab, the third-annual Walk Like MADD in The Woodlands will also feature a "MADD Dash" chipped 5K run for the recreational running community. Interested participants can register at www.walklikemadd.org, or anyone can register in person at 8 a.m. on the morning of Oct. 5th. The MADD Dash begins at 9:30 a.m., the walk begins at 9:40 a.m. and a post-race festival runs until noon.

"The event partners well with our message of 'safety on the road,' " says Amy Milstead, President of Milstead Automotive, the Presenting Sponsor of the event. Milstead champions a no-texting-and-driving campaign as well, and will run in this year's event. "It is really emotional and moving that by educating people, we can save lives. The life you save just might be your own."

More than 60 cities play host to Walk Like MADD events across the country. Southeast Texas MADD Advisory Board Chairman Will Womble will help emcee the event, along with Walk Like MADD The Woodlands chair Jennifer Crosby, who lost a brother to drunk driving. Sponsor Amy Milstead and Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon will also attend.

Several special teams are involved in this year's walk, including Emily & Kevin's Together Forever — a team dedicated to Emily Preston and Kevin McDougall, who were killed this spring on Beltway 8 by a wrong-way drunk driver, led by their mothers Michele Kuslich and Debi McDougall —as well as Travis Ryan's Love, led by mother Michelle Chisum, who lost her son Travis in wrong-way drunk driving accident on I-45 in The Woodlands. Team 10-42 comprised of the law enforcement community and Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office’s Team, will join the lineup this year to highlight the importance of law enforcement in the effort to curb drunk driving.

"We really try to make it a celebration for people's loved ones," says Heather Smith, special events manager for Southeast Texas MADD. "It's fun, but also driven by our mission. People not only get to know the cause, but also come to enjoy the atmosphere."

The event features something for everyone: a bounce house and Kid Zone for the little ones, a Teen Scene aimed at older children, and a health and safety fair as a service to the entire community. Parents will find a booth full of information and advice that will help them talk to their children about safe driving habits and the dangers of drinking and driving. Dog lovers can make furry friendships in the Doggy Den, where local shih tzu and lhasa apso rescue organizations will showcase pets up for adoption. Participating teams will congregate in the team tent area with other team members, friends and family. A tribute area features notes and memories about lives affected by drunk driving.

Michelle Chisum's story

Chisum will join hundreds of supporters and her "Travis Ryan's Love" teammates at Walk Like MADD in The Woodlands.

A little over a year ago, on June 29, 2012, her son Travis Saunders was killed by a wrong-way driver on Interstate 45. At first, Michelle was in shock and numb with grief. Last year, she did her first Walk Like MADD in The Woodlands just on the heels of the accident, in disbelief.

"The accident affected me in every way you can imagine," Chisum said. "All throughout the first days and weeks after it happened, everything I did, every move I made, was with the thought, 'How would Travis expect me to behave?' "

In the time since, Montgomery County has been riveted and galvanized by the senseless tragedy that killed Travis and driver Nicole Adams, and injured David Porras. Travis' family has gone through a courtroom ordeal, as the details of 24-year-old drunk-driver Nicole Baukus' actions on June 29 played out in headlines and TV screens around Texas.

Witnesses and video footage confirmed that Baukus consumed 21 drinks before she "actually drove over the car Travis and his friends were in," as Chisum explains. Travis was sitting in the back seat on the driver's side, the side of impact. Had he been on the other side, he might have lived.

After last-minute guilty pleas to one count of intoxicated assault and two counts of intoxicated manslaughter, Baukus was sentenced on August 2 to 38 years in prison, 34 of them before she is eligible for parole.

"It feels awesome to know that she did not get away with it," Chisum said. "I feel so relieved to know now that she is locked up, unable to hurt anyone else."

Last year, Chisum joined the Walk Like MADD effort because MADD had reached out and helped her following her son's death. Now, she is hoping to honor Travis' life by telling her story and convincing others of the devastation caused by the simple choice to drive drunk. For the families grieving loved ones, sharing their lives and educating the public are one of the clearest ways to help. "By doing nothing at all, I feel I would be betraying my son," she said.

"We regret that these stories have to be told," Heather Smith said, special events manager for Southeast Texas MADD. "But we tell them in honor of loved ones who have been affected by drinking and driving. We have to show the community that it does happen, so we can eliminate drinking and driving."