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OKLAHOMA CITY – On July 7, 2007, the Dillard family was forever changed. Travis and Shannon Dillard were both badly burned while operating a professional fireworks display in Piedmont, Okla. One of the rockets failed to launch properly resulting in the tragedy.

– On July 7, 2007, the Dillard family was forever changed. Travis and Shannon Dillard were both badly burned while operating a professional fireworks display in Piedmont, Okla. One of the rockets failed to launch properly resulting in the tragedy.

The brother and sister were treated at the Paul Silverstein Burn Center at INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City. Shannon Dillard Wilson died of her injuries on July 22. She was 27 years old. Travis Dillard passed away on Aug. 8, at the age of 25.

Travis was as an accomplished songwriter and musician working hard to build his music career at the time of his untimely death. In memory of both Shannon and Travis, the family chose to launch The Dillard Project to produce and release the unpublished music of Travis Dillard in a CD titled Out of the Ashes.

The album went on sale July 7, 2009. The family decided the proceeds from the CD should go back to INTEGRIS. Exactly one year later on July 7, 2010, the family made a $5,000 donation to the burn center.

“This is our way of saying thank you to the physicians and medical staff who treated Shannon and Travis in their hour of need,” says the siblings’ mother, Louann Dillard. “We hope the funds will help future burn victims receive the same level of care and love shown to Shannon and Travis.”

Herbert Meites, M.D., is the medical director of the Paul Silverstein Burn Center. He says the donation is meaningful both personally and professionally. “Due to the length of stay of an average burn patient, we develop very close relationships with them and their families. Absolutely every effort was made to save Louann’s children. This gift shows gratitude even though our best efforts were unsuccessful.”

Meites says the money will go toward transforming the current employee lounge into a family ICU waiting room. This area will be a private, quiet place for physicians and family members to discuss the prognosis and treatment options available to their loved ones. He says a plaque will be placed in the room to serve as a permanent reminder of the tragedy and a memorial to Travis and Shannon Dillard.