RALLYING A GOOD CAUSE
Force is strong in Nick Rutledge
Nick Rutledge doesn’t need a full hand to count the number of good days he’s had in the last year.
But in the last week, he’s had a couple.
The 14-year-old was diagnosed with an aggressive form of sinus cancer in October, and hasn’t been to Grade 8 classes at Handsworth Secondary in North Vancouver since. He’s two-thirds of the way through 43 weeks of chemotherapy, which includes 33 days of radiation treatment.
Needless to say, good days are hard to come by.
But thanks to the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada, Ferrari Maserati of Vancouver (FMOV) and the Diamond Rally, Nick enjoyed two great ones in the past week.
The first was last Thursday night at an FMOV fundraiser held in his honour at the Burrard Street dealership; and the second was on Saturday, spent in the passenger seat of a Ferrari driving up the Sea to Sky Highway in the Diamond Rally.
“When I tucked him into bed (Saturday) night, he was kind of teary eyed and said, ‘Mom, I wish today could kind of never end,’ ” Sue Rutledge said yesterday. “Everyone was so gracious and kind, and they didn’t treat him like a cancer kid. They just treated him like a kid who was interested in the cars, which was brilliant.”
This is the second year that FMOV has joined forces with the B.C. and Yukon Chapter of the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada to raise funds for a boy battling cancer. Last year, then 10-year-old Ferrari fanatic Joey Iaquinta had a wish of travelling with his family to Ferrari HQ in Italy to, among other things, drive the F1 simulator. Thanks to fundraising efforts by Children’s Wish, FMOV and the Diamond Rally, the Burnaby fam- ily of five is heading there in early summer.
Nick Rutledge’s initial wish didn’t have anything to do with cars. Instead, he wanted to go someplace warm with his family, which includes five brothers, to hang out on a beach and play in the waves.
But after Saturday’s Diamond Rally, “I’m thinking maybe something to do with cars now,” he said with a laugh.
He’s also a huge Star Wars fan, so his team entry in the rally — a Ferrari California T covered in R2-D2 graphics — was named Children’s Wish Force.
Everyone was so gracious and kind, and they didn’t treat him like a cancer kid. They just treated him like a kid who was interested in the cars.
And the force was clearly with them; they won the Best Team award.
In addition, more than 30 of the 150 supercars in the rally had Children’s Wish logos on them, each bought by the car owners with the money going toward Nick’s wish.
Proceeds from that, along with the FMOV cocktail party, have met the goal for his wish. And then some.
“We had double the guests this year over last year, and we raised 50 per cent more than last year,” Children’s Wish development coordinator Hannah Smith said of the $15,000 raised at the party.
Nick himself helped contribute, as a painting he did of Darth Vader was auctioned off for $1,500. In total nearly $40,000 has been raised.
“We’ve been super lucky through Ferrari Maserati and (Diamond Rally organizer) Craig Stowe introducing us to all these amazing people in the supercar and luxury car world,” said Smith. “And it’s snowballed.”
For FMOV general manager Mark Edmonds, getting involved with Joey’s Wish last year and Nick’s this year was a “no-brainer.”
“We’ve all got kids so if you see a kid going through a tough time, and you can bring a smile to his face, why wouldn’t you?” Edmonds said, noting that he learned the power of giving back to the community while working for John Chessman at MCL Motors.
“He was a big believer in supporting charities and the arts community.”
Edmonds admits there’s also something in it for himself and his staff, including sales manager Mark Harrison, who piloted the California T with Nick.
“Being around these cars all the time you can become a little blasé about them, so when you see the power of the Ferrari brand light up a kid’s eyes, it helps re-ignite the passion we have for these cars.”
Sue Rutledge couldn’ t say enough about Edmonds and his staff.
“The party was a wonderful event, and the Ferrari Maserati guys were so generous with their time,” she said, noting that all her sons received a behind-the-scenes tour of FMOV prior to the cocktail party.
His brothers also made the trip up to Pemberton during the rally — “In our minivan,” Sue said with a smile — and had a chance to sit in lots of the supercars taking part in the rally. Sadly, this is not the first time cancer has affected the Rutledge family. Nick was just two and his brother Connor five when their father, Ross Rutledge, passed away from the disease. Ross was a former national field hockey team member and founder of the West Vancouver Field Hockey Club’s Adana’s high-performance program, and the field at Ambleside is named Rutledge Field in his memory.
Sue remarried in 2010, and now counts stepsons Felix (age 10), Eliot (12) and 16-year-old twins Oliver and Findley in her family.
Of her son Nick’s battle and his ongoing treatment, she says: “He’s a very determined young man. He just does it. He’s just a get-it-done kind of kid.”
And one, with that spirit, who has many more good days ahead of him.