WHEN YOU WISH UPON A CAR: An Amazing Tale of Generosity
April 10, 2020
Posted by Barrett-Jackson
Written by Eric Becker
Ken Lingenfelter, Tim Allen and Dave Kindig with Will Wade behind the scenes at the 2020 Scottsdale Auction.
A 13-year-old from Iowa City, Iowa, was asked by the Make-A-Wish Foundation to choose the thing he most wanted to do. Will Wade wasn’t interested in a trip to Disneyland, or a meet-and-greet with a favorite athlete or celebrity. Instead, Will wished for a trip to the 2020 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction. When asked why, Will responded immediately, “To see people like me – gearheads – just all over the place! I have loved cars since I was 5 years old.” For Will, simply watching the action unfold on TV wasn’t enough; he wanted to see and celebrate the World’s Greatest Collector Car Auctions firsthand.
Make-A-Wish Iowa flew Will and his family to Scottsdale for the January auction. The Wade family’s experience was set in motion by Janet Cussler and her husband the late author Clive Cussler. Janet accompanied the Wade family on their adventure, going so far as to ride shotgun for some very hot laps in a Ford GT, after being convinced by an excited Will. “Janet was an angel,” Will said with a grin.
Will brings the gavel down on the sale of a custom Jeep to benefit Make-A-Wish.
But there was more to come. By sheer coincidence, organizational leadership and other children from Make-A-Wish Arizona were present at Barrett-Jackson for the auction of Lot #3001, a custom 1981 Jeep CJ7 built by Gas Monkey Garage. The one-of-a-kind Jeep was donated by Joe Riley, a longtime friend of the auction who is a fixture on the block when a “car for a cause” comes along, with an ever-present smile on his face and decked out in his signature colorful shorts. With a heart to help others, over the years Riley has donated a number of charity vehicles and had the winning bid on more than a dozen others for a variety of causes. At the 2020 Scottsdale Auction, his goal and that of Barrett-Jackson was to raise awareness and money for Make-A-Wish’s Arizona chapter.
“Let’s give it up for two famous Arizonans, Barrett-Jackson and Make-A-Wish, both started right here in Arizona,” said Jim Mullin, Vice Chair of Make-A-Wish Arizona, as the Jeep made its way onto the auction block with Will in the passenger seat. Will then joined Barrett-Jackson Chairman and CEO Craig Jackson and the auctioneering team on the podium and the bidding began, rapidly reaching $200,000.
Craig Jackson, Will, car donor Joe Riley and bidder and philanthropist Michelle Mauzy were among those celebrating after the sale.
Jackson handed Will the gavel to close the sale. Much to the surprise of everyone present, the buyer chose to donate the Jeep back to the auction block, where its resale raised an additional $175,000. Then, remarkably, the Jeep was sold yet again, bringing in a total of $425,000 for Make-A-Wish Arizona.
When asked, Will said the most standout moments for him at auction were meeting Craig Jackson and receiving a private tour of Jackson’s personal car collection, even sitting in Jackson’s Bugatti Veyron. Another stand out moment for young Will was standing in front of the roaring crowd swinging the hammer down. “Will hasn’t stopped talking about his time spent with the Barrett-Jackson family,” said Will’s father, Ryan Wade. “We’ve already committed to making Barrett-Jackson an annual family event.”
Automobilia gifts from all over the world landed on the Wade’s doorstep.
It gets even better. Members of the Barrett-Jackson community got word of Will’s enthusiasm for automobilia and generously contributed money that allowed Will to bid on and win two automobilia items at auction. “To see the collector car community and car guys as a whole come together and do something as special as this, it’s really a fantastic thing,” Jackson said. A testament to the kindness of strangers, word quickly spread of Will’s love of automobilia and, when they got back to Iowa, the family was inundated with automobilia gifts from all over the world. “We had packages piling up at our front door,” Ryan said. “They came from all over, everywhere from Kentucky to Canada and even Europe.”
Barrett-Jackson is proud to work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and celebrate the love of cars with aspiring gearheads. Touching the lives of those in need and knowing that our community embraced Will so completely makes it even more special.