Rally 4 Kids: Making a Difference for Boys & Girls Club - West Of Tulsa Show #0006

Visit www.Rally4kids.org This week’s guests on the West of Tulsa Show are Monte Wilson, Co-Founder of the Rally4Kids event and Scott Rouleau, a rally volunteer. The Rally 4 Kids is an annual fundraiser for the United Boys and Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County. It features 60 beautiful and exotic classic cars driving about 150 miles in the back roads of Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. The event includes a drivers party the night before the rally where the drivers and their navigators learn about the rules and enjoy great food. Everyone wakes up early the next morning and gathers at the rally starting line. This is where the teams find out for the first time the route they’ll be driving and which challenges they will have to complete at each predetermined checkpoint along the route. The event wraps up with a gala and dinner party where all of the drivers and navigators park the vehicle they drove in the rally on the lawn. The teams are encouraged to keep the bugs and dirt from the drive on the car. Wilson and Rouleau talk about the challenges of putting on the event, especially during the Covid years, and how the rally has been a lifeline for the kids at the different clubs throughout Santa Barbara County. The West of Tulsa team digs deeper into the event by discussing topics such as, range anxiety, getting lost, how to deal with the cops if you are stopped during the rally, pestering Monte for clues to find out more about this year’s secret route, what is the navigator really responsible for during the drive, tricks to winning the challenges, Dodgeball, which cars are at highest risk of not finishing the rally and why and finally, all the things that can go wrong. It’s a lot but we cover all of it. Wilson also talks in more detail about an accident involving Michael Hammer and one of his favorite cars during a rally a few years ago. Hammer drove his grandfather’s Rolls Royce one year and Wilson explains how the windshield was scratched from the inside and the story behind it. He also tells a heartbreaking story about a mom and her son spotted sitting in a car outside one of the Boys and Girls Clubs. Wilson and Rouleau reveal more about this year’s 9th Annual Rally 4 Kids held on April 12th and 13th. They say it will be full of surprises including a new format and a new driving route that even stunned Wilson. We talk about Jeff Clark who designed this year’s beautiful rally poster and why the “creepy” walking plants will not be invited back this year! All of the money raised benefits the Boys and Girls Clubs in Lompoc, Solvang, Buellton, Goleta, Santa Barbara, Carpinteria and Camp Whittier. Even if you can’t drive in the rally, you can support the cause. If you see us during the rally in April, please wave and honk. Enjoy the show!