Riding for St. Jude's kids

By Laurie Gordon
HOPE — On Saturday, June 25, an event honoring a woman who touched the lives of many was orchestrated by a Stillwater family. The Petrullos staged Winnie's Ride --a motorcycle ride and kids fun day-- in honor of Mike Petrullo's mother, and the turnout for this fundraiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital made it a big success. The event was held at Tramontin Harley Davidson in Hope.
Winnie Petrullo fought a difficult battle with pancreatic cancer, eventually succumbing to the disease at age 66 in November of 2011. "She never felt sorry for herself but instead focused on kids who were suffering from cancer," her son, Mike Petrullo, said. The inspiration for the ride and its beneficiary came from her caring for children with cancer.
"The event was a huge success," Petrullo said, "Our head count was actually double from our estimates during our planning stage. We had approximately 80 bikes registered and had a head count of 160 people. We sold every last hamburger, hotdog, and T-Shirt available."
Petrullo is thankful to the overwhelming number of volunteers who worked very hard, but said if he had to mention one person it would be Nancy Duthie.
"She is the manager over at Tramontin Harley Davidson. She went above and beyond in every sense of the word to make this event a successful one. She was amazing," he said.
As to what his mother's take on the event would have been, Petrullo said, "She didn’t really like being the center of attention, but I know she would have been very proud of her family for doing something like this. The Honor Guard from the Sussex County Sheriff's Department stood at attention by her grave site as we drove by. I became very emotional as I know that would have been a very proud moment for her as well."
The event combined a motorcycle ride with a kids day. The ride went through a lot of Sussex County, including the county seat, and back at Tramontin Harley Davidson, there were lots of events for kids.
"We had plenty to do for the kids," Petrullo said, "But unfortunately we really didn’t get as many as we’d hoped. We knew it was going to be a gamble as normally these are not 'kid friendly' events. Getting more kids and families out for next year will be one of our challenges."
The show will go on and this one-time-event will become an annual. "I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone who took part in this day," Petullo said.
At press time, the amount raised for St. Judes was not yet tallied, but Petrullo said they were very pleased with the fundraiser.
For further information about this and next year's events, visit Tramontin Harley Davidson's web site or Facebook Page.