PALESTINE —
Men of all ages wearing bright-colored high heels raised more than $9,000 for the Crisis Center of Anderson and Cherokee Counties during the inaugural “Walk A Mile In Her Shoes” event Saturday in Palestine.
But more importantly, the more than 35 men who participated in the walk in heels — along with at least another 100 supporters walking next to them — raised awareness in the community that domestic violence won’t be tolerated.
“We did this walk to raise awareness for domestic violence. There is too much domestic violence against women and children so this walk symbolizes men’s support against domestic violence,” Anderson County Sheriff Greg Taylor said after walking the mile in high heels. “The walk was quite fun — a little painful — but fun. I hope we raised a lot of money.”
The walkers started walking at Ryan’s Steakhouse parking lot on Loop 256 and walked a mile to the Palestine Mall parking lot. After a short break, some of the men chose to participate in a 100-yard dash in their stilettos — with Palestine High School soccer player David Rayner IV coming in first, winning $100.
Some of the men carried signs such as “I’m man enough to walk a mile in her shoes,” “I’m walking in honor of my wife,” and “I’m walking to make my daughter’s world safe” along with the comical “at least I didn’t have to wax” sign.
The walkers raising the most money for the cause were Anderson County Sheriff Greg Taylor and Anderson County District Attorney Doug Lowe, though the organizers were still working totaling up contributions and sponsorship this weekend.
“I’m just thrilled that things went so smoothly and we had such a great turnout. I’m looking forward to doing this next year,” Crisis Center event coordinator Brandon Greene said, noting how proud he was of the walkers for standing up for a good cause. “I think they found it fun once they got past the pain. It wasn’t so bad.”
In Texas, 75 percent of Texans either know someone or are directly affected by domestic violence, Greene said.
“We cannot do our jobs without the Crisis Center. That’s why I’m here,” Lowe said before the walk. “...Think about women that are abused. Do this for the community — for the Crisis Center. Stop domestic violence before it escalates into something that nobody wants to read in the newspaper — nobody wants to read about those cases.”
Other local personalities participating in the walk were Palestine Chief of Operations Jeff Powell, KETK NBC 56 East Texas Live host Bob Brackeen, KVNE morning personality Mike Harper and 99.3 SportsRadio Talk host Reid Kerr.
John Murray was one of the walkers.
“I’ve had a sister who has been abused so anything I can do, I’ll do it,” Murray said.
The Palestine Herald-Press also has three walkers participate — Sports Editor Justin Rains, Advertising Director Dan Moore and Production Manager Art Veneris.
“Beyond the pain and comedy associated with the event, the idea today was to raise awareness about a serious problem,” Rains said. “It was a great time and a good event, and hopefully we made some sort of impact.”
Palestine Regional Medical Center provided water bottles. Local massage therapists offered free foot massages for the walkers.
“Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” was sponsored by Snap Fitness-Palestine, David Barnard CLU State Farm Insurance, Chicktime Inc. of Palestine, Brown-McCann Farmers Insurance and Ben E. Keith.
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View photos and video from the event on the Palestine Herald-Press Facebook page and at www.palestineherald.com
Local Scene
Related Photos
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Anderson County Sheriff Greg Taylor carries a sign “I’m walking to make my daughter’s world safe” while wearing high heels and walking in the “Walk A Mile In Her Shoes” fund-raiser Saturday in Palestine for the Crisis Center of Anderson and Cherokee Counties. STUART WHITAKER/Special to Herald-Press
Discussion
Walking a Mile in Her shoes
Local officials, personalities walk in support of Crisis Center
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