Dozens of vehicles revved their engines loud and proud for 21 seconds on Sunday – to honour the age Cochrane teenager Brandon Thomas would have been had he not been killed by a drunk driver nearly five years ago.
As the rumble filled the air, mom Kim – the face of grief and loss – briefly allowed herself a smile. She says the rev is meant to be loud enough for her car-loving son to hear in heaven … and if that roar was any indication, Brandon would have broken out in a wide grin, too.
“I know he wouldn’t miss this for the world,” said Kim through tears. “These are bittersweet days.”
The fourth annual Show Your Ride for Brandon brought together more than 700 vehicles – and many more motorheads – to the University of Calgary on Sunday. From kitted out Hondas to custom chrome, the event was a wonder on wheels for those who braved the heat to revel in the row upon row of toys, and boast of their own beasts at the same time.
Amidst all the shine and the chrome, however, the message of the day was not lost.
“Don’t drink and drive,” said Darrell Martindale, a member of the Chozen Breed Motorcycle Riding Club.
Show Your Ride was created to celebrate the spirit of Thomas, a car lover and aspiring mechanic who was killed by a drunk driver in December 2012 when he was struck head-on as he travelled along Highway 22. He was 17.
For the last few years, Martindale has donated signage for the fundraiser through his company, Copy Repro, and this time his riding group decided to trot out their hogs and help out at the charity show and shine as well.
Fellow Chozen Breed member Gord Van Wort said anything he and his club can do to spread the word about the perils of impaired driving may help stop even one person from making that potentially fatal decision.
“If every person touches 10 people … soon you’re going to have thousands of people against drinking and driving,” he said. “The bigger this gets, the more people we can touch. It’s a great cause.”
“Everybody here is definitely a motorhead,” echoed club vice-president Andy Lucking, “but there’s more of an emotional aspect to it.”
Current club president Mike Thomas (who is not related to Brandon and Kim) managed through emotional memories of his own on Sunday – his father drove drunk and died when Thomas was just eight years old.
“It opened my eyes for how dangerous it can be for anybody that gets behind the wheel,” he said of his personal tragedy. “Charity events like this make the message … clear.”
While funds were still being tallied at press time, this year’s proceeds will be directed toward mechanics scholarships at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and Cochrane High School, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Show Your Ride for Brandon Victims Fund, which will provide support for families who have suffered loss as a result of drinking and driving.
In addition to the rev, a crowd of enthusiasts also released hundreds of blue balloons into the sky to celebrate Brandon one more time – and to signal another successful shared experience.
Kim wiped away tears and thanked the hundreds of people who, despite the ongoing pain of her heartbreak, give her a reason to smile.
“Today is overwhelming for me. To see the … support for me, for Brandon and for this cause … It’s what keeps me going,” she said. “You guys are my heroes.”
