David Talerico Selected As Richard Stockton College's
Outstanding Designated Driver HERO For 2011

60 Foot Billboard
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Atlantic City, N.J. - David Talerico never thought he would have his picture on a 60-foot billboard.  That’s before he became a hero.  David, a junior at Richard Stockton College, was selected the outstanding Designated Driver HERO for 2011 by the HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers.

Now, thanks to the HERO Campaign and Clear Channel Outdoor Advertising, David’s picture is bigger than life, displayed on a billboard on the outbound side of the Atlantic City Expressway, adjacent to the train station.

The Campaign, established by the family of Navy Ensign John Elliott of Egg Harbor Township in his memory, promotes the use of safe and sober designated drivers to prevent drunken driving tragedies. Ensign Elliott was killed in a collision with a drunken driver in July, 2000, two months after graduating with honors from the United States Naval Academy.

Talerico was nominated by fellow students and selected as the top Designated HERO for serving as a designated driver for his classmates. Talerico, the son of David and Kim Talerico of Linwood, is also the captain of Stockton’s team in the HERO Campaign’s Inaugural HERO Walk, to be held Sunday, October 23, 2011 on the Ocean City Boardwalk.

“We are proud and delighted to have David as Stockton’s Designated HERO,” said Bill Elliott, chairman of the HERO Campaign and John Elliott’s father. “He is an outstanding young man who exemplifies the qualities we seek for our Designated HERO program.  We believe his billboard will encourage others to follow his example and save lives.” 

Elliott said the idea for the HERO Campaign came from the realization that John Elliott’s death could have been prevented if the drunk driver who hit and killed him had been given a ride home by a designated driver. That friend could have been a hero, but instead put his intoxicated friend behind the wheel, only to have him die along with Ensign Elliott in the ensuing crash.

Chelsea Gallagher was the first Stockton Designated HERO in 2010. The HERO Campaign works with other colleges around the state, including Monmouth University, Rowan, the College of New Jersey, Rider, Fairleigh Dickinson and the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

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