Katie Burkey Honored at Garrison Play Days Festival
Summer is in full swing and being celebrated at town festivals throughout our state. Justice4Katie was able to take part in one such celebration last weekend at Garrison Play Days. It was a special weekend for family and friends to honor Katie Burkey, who was lost to a distracted driver on September 6th, 2017, as it was Katie’s 24th birthday and the weekend of the Garrison Play Days Softball Tournament.
The Play Days Softball Tournament was a favorite for Katie where she got to play ball with her family and friends making up the Minnesota Monitoring team. Over the years, special friendships and great memories were made at this tournament, making this a very special event to honor Katie and to bring awareness to distracted driving. As a tribute to Katie, as well as to Jodi Olson and Travis Eckman, friends and teammates that were also taken from us too soon, there was a balloon release along with a few words from Katie’s mom, Karen Altman.
Justice4Katie would like to thank everyone involved for making this a very memorable weekend. A special shout out to Matt, the Softball Tournament Organizer, for giving us the opportunity to take a moment to remember Katie and friends before the Home Run Derby. We would also like to thank Melissa for helping us get a table, where we were able to share Katie’s story, reminisce with old friends, and provide information on the new Hands Free Law, effective August 1st, 2019.
Justice4Katie is a 401(c)-3 non-profit dedicated to tackling the growing epidemic of distracted driving. Our mission is to create awareness, make changes, and to honor and remember our beloved Katie Burkey.
