An Interview with Don and Mel – October, 2008

Interviewer:
John McKeachie, well-known sportscaster and a longtime friend of the Zajac Foundation

Interviewees:
Mel Zajac, C.M., founder and Chairman of the Zajac Foundation
Don Rutledge, NYC Marathon hopeful

JM: Hi, John McKeachie here. I'm here with Mel Zajac and Don Rutledge. Mel, tell us about Zajac Ranch.

MZ: It's a Ranch that's situated in Mission which is 60 km from Vancouver and it's for children that have chronic illnesses and life threatening diseases. We formed this Ranch and it is our fifth season and it has been very well received. It's got all the facilities. There is an indoor swimming pool which is about 80% completed with a spa, it has an indoor physiotherapy room, it has a wellness room that has been donated by Rick Moore, the father of Greg Moore, the racing car driver. There is horseback riding – we have an indoor riding ring which is huge, 200 feet by 100 feet wide. We have kayaking, canoeing, archery, soccer, softball, volleyball, and a gymnasium for basketball. There's even a high ropes course and climbing wall.

JM: How many people do you accommodate in a given year?

MZ: This summer we had 450 children with chronic illnesses and diseases and during the off season we rent out the Ranch to schools, religious groups, and other community organizations. As a matter of fact as we speak we have an Autism group of about 80 children coming in that is sponsored by the Canucks Autism Network.

JM: I have been to the Ranch a couple of times. For those of you who have never seen the Ranch contact Mel and we will arrange to get you there because you will be amazed.
The other guest I have with me is Don Rutledge, who is making a commitment as he nears the geriatric stage of his life and, there's not as much of you as the last time I saw you, Don. How much weight have you lost?

DR: Thirty pounds since January 5 th of this year, which is phenomenal.

JM: Well colour me jealous. I've just come back from a holiday and I've got to talk to you about this. But, Don, this is by no means your profession. You're not Simon Witlow, you're just a layman like the rest of us, moving into the back lot of your life and you're celebrating your 60 th birthday in December in a rather special way.

DR: Well actually, importantly, turning 60 of course I wanted to go on much longer than the age 60 and to do that I thought I needed some physical upgrading, physical conditioning and that is why I committed to do what I'm doing. So I think that was pretty well the driving force from a selfish point of view and, of course, you know the other reason why I am doing this.

JM: Absolutely. You and Mel have known each other for awhile?

DR: Mel and I have known each other for a long while, 37 years. We go back to the beginning of time. And that's obviously the most important incentive for me. I've watched Mel over the years do so much for people, not just young people, but people of all ages. Through his Foundation he's helped out with care homes for the elderly and care homes for the physically handicapped. Now with the Zajac Ranch for Children it's absolutely exceptional because here there is an opportunity for children who normally would not be able to go to camp because they need 24 hour supervision and Mel has provided that.

JM: So, we are talking to busy executives here who are scrolling down reading the text of what we are talking about today. They are saying get on with it, what's the point. Well, I think the point started last Christmas and that to me is a rather amazing story in itself.

DR: Yes, at our family Christmas party I even shocked my wife because she thought it was a commitment that would be impossible to live up to. But we talked about it and I did some medical checking on my own condition and the doctor said yes, go ahead, but you have a lot of work to do. I was in pretty bad shape. In fact, I didn't know how bad shape I was in when I announced at the Christmas party that I wanted to go out and run the New York Marathon and I wanted to encourage my friends, my relatives, and my business associates to contribute to sponsor my run for $100 per mile. At that Christmas party we had over 60 people that committed right away.

JM: So, you couldn't pick a 10K like the Sun Run, you couldn't pick a 5K, you had to pick the New York Marathon?

DR: I think I wanted to do the New York Marathon, again from a selfish point of view, I felt if I'm going to do this I might as well go all the way. If I'm going to have the incentive to make it work for myself and for the Ranch then just a 10K wasn't going to be enough.

JM: So, how's your progress? Have you run a marathon yet?

DR: No.

JM: So, the next time you run one is going to your best time.

DR: This will be the first marathon I will have run. I have trained over the last few months. I ran the Sun Run which is a 10K which, by the way, was really tough to get to and I did some training in advance. Just a quick note on the training, the first day I went out, which was in Kitsilano, was a runners Wednesday night group. It was one minute of running, four minutes of walking, times five. In that first one minute I thought I was going to have to call an ambulance, I didn't realize what bad shape I was in until I actually ran for that first minute. The next four minutes I was huffing and puffing, people were saying “Gee, do we need to call for help?” I managed to make it through and I continued on and on but it's a lot more difficult than I ever expected. It's a really tough thing to accomplish to train to run a marathon. A marathon is a lot bigger event than I expected and that's probably why less than 1% of people in the world have ever run a marathon.

JM: My high school motto in Latin was “ palma non sine pulvere”, which means “no reward without effort”. So you're right in the middle of that aren't you?

DR: Absolutely, actually I'm rounding the club house corner and it's such a privilege to have you interview me. I'm so proud that this coming weekend, as an example, Al Peretz, my running mate who is one of the senior partners at Deloitte, he's been training and helping me train in the last couple of months and this Monday, Thanksgiving, we'll be running 25K as part of the training.

JM: Fabulous. Mr. Zajac, are you going to go back and watch him in New York ?

MZ: I'm hoping to get out there and watch him. We're just trying to arrange a flight now.

DR: Yes, that would be great if you and Wendy could be there.

JM: So, what would the ramifications of a significant donation from Mr. Rutledge be for the Zajac Ranch?

MZ: It will finish off the pool which is pretty well 80% complete. This is a great new facility that will let all the kids go swimming, even those with serious mobility problems and the ones who have compromised immune systems and can't swim in the lake. All the kids have been looking forward to this for years now!

JM: I think we should leave a little intrigue for those reading this right now, Don and Mel. I think in the close we should ask for the money. You have a couple of people donating $1,000 a mile?

DR: Yes.

JM: $100 is your magic number, but you'll take any number in between?

DR: $100 is magic but we will certainly take less. As a matter of fact, a close friend of mine's wife who wanted to contribute outside of her husband, she said “Well Don is it okay if I just do $10 a mile?” And, of course it is, the whole idea is to raise as much money as possible to assist in the development of the Ranch.

JM: 26 miles, 385 yards. We'll throw in the 385 yards. You come up with the rest. Check with Mel, check with Don about the progress of this and, the bottom line is we want you to write the cheque on behalf of the kids. Closing thoughts Mr. Zajac?

MZ: No that's great. I really appreciate this and I think anyone who visits the Ranch will be amazed. It's one of the only camps like it in Canada so we get kids from all over, Ontario , Manitoba , Saskatchewan . So, it's not only BC.

JM: It's going to be a heck of a birthday party on December 18 th for your 60 th . Is that when you're going to announce the total?

DR: That's when it's going to be.

JM: Thanks Don. Thanks Mel.

To learn more about Don's run for the Ranch visit www.zajacranch.com or call 604-739-0444.