People show their support for the fight against drunk driving in memory of Meagan Rough at the MayDay 5k Glow Run. Photo by Kathlene Davis.
Family and friends of Meagan Rough called the Lubbock community together to take a stand against drunk driving and light up the night at the MayDay 5K Glow run.
Participants in the night run wore neon yellow shirts and glow sticks jewelry in order to bring light to the death of Meagan Rough. The event and the starting line for the run was on Glenna Goodacre Blvd., just across from the site of the accident, and brought hundreds of people together to remember Rough.
Rough’s mother, Kari Rough, thanked those that put the event together, and said the run meant a lot to her and her family. She also said that she hopes this event will help stop the recklessness of drunk driving.
“We don’t want to end the party,” Kari Rough said, “May would not have that, at all. We just want you to get home safe.”
Many of Rough’s sorority sisters from Kappa Alpha Theta attended and helped with the glow run, including Emma Pruetz, who had been Rough’s little sister in the organization. Pruetz said she felt the chapter had grown closer through the tragedy.
“It was hard at first,” Pruetz said, “but I think now we’re all just celebrating her life and we’re happy that we can be here and do something to help out her family.”
Pruetz said she and everyone in her sorority had loved Rough and was glad so many people were able to come together to remember her.
“She was just very bright, and she just lit up any room she walked into,” Pruetz said.
Volunteers from other sororities provided activities such as glittery face painting and also helped register participants. Peyton Collum, one of these volunteers, said Kappa Alpha Theta had sent emails to the other organizations to sign-up for the event.
Collum also said she and her friends were excited about the unique glow-in-the-dark aspect of the run and supported awareness of drunk driving.
“We just knew it was a good cause,” Collum said, “and we thought it would be a lot of fun.”
All proceeds from the event, according to the official Facebook page, went to the Meagan Rough memorial fund.
The fund will provide financial assistance to Rough’s family to help pay for expenses brought about by her death, as well as creating scholarships in her name for academic and athletic achievements.
About Kathlene Davis
