A Note from Marie Tate on Race4Love

Hi, my name is Marie R. Tate and I live in Beaufort, SC. I have been blessed to have a business named Tate Enterprise, LLC. We provide bookkeeping and administrative services.

My moment on fire is when I realized the scope of how God used me to have an impact on people’s lives. I became a Board Member of a non-profit organization, then CODA (Citizen’s Opposed to Domestic Abuse) now Hopeful Horizons, after my husband and another deputy responded to a domestic abuse call where they were both killed in the line of duty.

I had joined the Board and thought it would help me to understand the plight of the domestic abused victim. I wanted to try to find out: why my husband became a statistic; why they could not have done, said, gestured something to him to alert him that the abuser had a gun; why do victims keep returning. Anyway, to God be ALL the glory I/HE dealt with the murder, the funeral, the trial, the confusion, the new role of widowhood and single motherhood that changed my and my family’s lives on January 8, 2002 forever.

The Holy Spirit put the idea of a 3 Mile Walk/Run on my heart, I discussed it with my fellow Board members and the 2012 Tate/Coursen Memorial Walk/Run was underway to commemorate the 10th year of the guys’ ultimate sacrifice. The positive support from people in and around the community was overwhelming! The Beaufort Car Club came out in full force, my husband loved muscle cars, they revved their engines and that’s how the race began.

The following year the race was renamed Race4Love and has been held annually the Saturday closest to Valentine’s Day in February. Race participation and funds raised continues to increase yearly as the word about domestic abuse circulates. Raising money to help educate victims and the public, funding programs for domestic abuse victims and their families, and providing legal aid are some of the things for which Hopeful Horizons uses the proceeds. Since it started, the race has raised $94,000.

This moment is important to me because I realized from the January 8, 2002 tragedy, God used me to help start a race that would provide a means to raise proceeds to help save the lives of hundreds of people. I feel, since this writing tremendously humbled and at awe at God for using me.

Race4Love is Saturday, Feb. 20 and Walk4Love is Friday, Feb. 19. Virtual options are also available. For more information about the race, please visit the website.