On Sunday, Oct. 13, students and community members joined together to celebrate the ninth annual Run for Trey event, a fundraising event held to remember Treyton Kilar, who was 6 years old when he was tragically killed by a drunk driver in 2010.

Treyton loved baseball and he dreamed of one day becoming a professional baseball player. His dreams were cut short, but through donations and fundraising events like Run for Trey, his family, friends and community were able to help build Treyton’s Field of Dreams at Starin Park.

The proceeds of this year’s Run for Trey will be used to maintain that field and fund four high school scholarships that will be given in Treyton’s name.

“It’s a continuation of just remembering Treyton and having friends and family come out to remember him, have a good time, and to play on the field,” said Treyton’s father, Mike Kilar.

This year’s event featured the 5K fun run/ walk, a ninja warrior obstacle course for kids, visiting mascots, food and fun.

Kilar said it has been amazing to see all of the community support throughout the years. Every year, there are around 200 participants that join the 5K fun run/ walk, and many more come to the event to cheer on the participants and for the other activities.

Kilar said it has been great to see college students support Run for Trey as well. He said most of the volunteers for the event are college students and he appreciates all of their help.

“We cheer on the runners and give them the motivation to push themselves and have fun while doing it. We also make sure that the runners are following the proper path and staying on the route for the run,” said Sigma Alpha Lambda President Jennifer Belisle.

Sigma Alpha Lambda is one of the UW-W organizations that has helped with the fundraiser in past years and continues to do so because they see it as an important part of supporting the community.

“This event is important to the community and our organization due to the awareness it raises about your actions while driving when drunk. Understanding how your life can impact others is extremely important and sometimes I think a lot of the time we forget that,” said Belisle.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2,577 people were killed in crashes involving a drunk driver in Wisconsin from 2003-2012.

Whitewater resident Shawn Alexander said the fundraiser has been great at bringing the community together to pay tribute to Treyton and to bring awareness to the impact destructive decisions like drunk driving can have.

“It’s a great family event that came about from a very tragic happening,” said Alexander.  “Treyton’s field is huge for his family, so it has been great to see a community continue to come together for a family.”