Nik, who is battling a brain tumor, asked the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine to grant his fondest wish: to go to Atlantis Resort in Nassau, Bahamas with his family.
UAW-GM became a national sponsor of the Make-A-Wish Foundation in 1999 with the theme Making Smiles Standard Equipment® for wish children. Besides providing funding to grant wishes, UAW-GM members, GM dealers and GM employees have an impact in their communities by volunteering for the Foundation, participating in chapter events, raising funds and lending their time and skills to wishes.
The Pape Hummer dealership in South Portland helped create a wish party that would rank high in any little boy's mind but especially Nik's since he loves trucks and cars.
Pape opened their doors to the Marks family where Nik and his little brother, Anthony, went on a scavenger hunt. Clues made by Pape employees led Nik and Anthony to a shiny new Hummer vehicle. Inside the Hummer, Nik found travel backpacks stuffed with Hummer goodies and Make-A-Wish presents for his wish trip!
An already-delighted Nik was then invited to go on a test drive in the Hummer on the special Hummer off-road test area.
"Pape was simply happy to be a small part of the send-off event for Nik and his family
and to be involved with the whole Make-A-Wish experience," said Steve Tsujiura,
Marketing Director for Pape. "The smile on Nik's face as he was taken on a test drive in a brand new Hummer was truly magical. All of us here at Pape hope that we were able to bring some happiness into his life and we wish him well on the trip to Atlantis!"
After the Hummer was fully tested, Nik was escorted via Hummer to his favorite restaurant (Shogun) for dinner to complete the wish party.
The trip to Atlantis happened a few weeks later, and the pictures below give a glimpse into what turned out to be a fantastic trip. Watch WMTW's news report on Nik Marks as part of our Stories of Light campaign.
Pape Hummer dealership photos courtesy of Dustin Trider.
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