Ocean City’s Walk Smart campaign revealed mascot name

Labor Day can be a busy weekend at our beaches in Ocean City and that only means a lot of drivers and more foot traffic as well.

Just in time for Labor Day weekend, Ocean City revealed the mascot name for the Walk Smart campaign.

The Walk Smart mascot has been all over the beach town this summer promoting safety and the use of cross walks for drivers, pedestrians, and bikers.

Until today, he had no name. A number of name options were submitted, but from 5,502 votes more than 4,000 votes sealed the deal for Cheswick.

The mascot is named after a 22-year-old Matthew Cheswick, a man killed by an impaired driver in 2012 along Coastal Highway while waiting for a bus.

That following year, Matthew’s parents made their way back to Ocean City to help launch the “Walk Smart” effort.

Both of his parents were there today for their reveal.

His mother, Cecilia Roe, said this statement at the reveal, “I just want to thank all of you. I want to thank all of the citizens of Maryland for this wonderful tribute and anytime we can bring awareness to pedestrian safety then that is something wonderful and a good thing and I know Matthew is with us today smiling down and watching with pleasure.”

To find out more helpful tips to stay safe, click on here for their website.