CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. -- "If I save one person's life, that's the whole thing, that's the whole thing."

Bill Dikant has spent the last thirty years of his life trying to take a horrible tragedy and turn it into a life lesson.

"On the 29th of December, 1977, my wife, daughter and eldest son, Michael, were killed by this drunk driver," Dikant said.

He relives his story and his pain everyday in hopes it will touch someone.

"I'm not just speaking for myself .I'm speaking for other people who can't speak for themselves," Dikant said.

Bill and his wife, Janice, have been married now for 26 years. When they met, Janice was a local EMT. A few years later, Bill joined as an ambulance driver.

"We also saw a whole lot back then, drinking and driving. We would see that. We would see terrible crashes. It became something of a passion for us that we wanted to get these people off the road. From there, he just took off with it," Janice Dikant said.

And from there, advocating against drunk driving became a permanent part of their lives. This Saturday was no different. The Dikants came to Schenectady to honor members of the advocacy group Remove Intoxicated Drivers. Bill was also recognized. He was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in advocacy.

In the past 30 years since Bill has been an advocate, large strides have been reached to put stricter drunken driving laws on the books, but Bill Dikant says more needs to be done.

"It's a crime of violence and so far very few of the states are looking at it as a crime of violence," Bill Dikant said.

Bill Dikant says he'll never stop warning people of the disastrous effects of drunk driving.

"I'm going to keep going until I either push me in a wheel chair or slam the coffin on me," Bill Dikant said.

But being honored gives him a moment to think and look back at how far he has come.

"That means I must have done something right, some place, sometime. I'm appreciative of it, oh yeah," Dikant said.