December 26, 2024
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Northwest Herald

Steve Rusin: Guardian of the Ribbon

By JANE HUH

Jenny Kane – jkane@shawmedia.com Steve Rusin is the president of the nonprofit Guardian of the Ribbon for the Northern Illinois Chapter. The group raises awareness and money to support women with cancer. He and his family helped create "Jessica" a pink firetruck to raise awareness throughout the region and to visit patients. The truck was named after Jessica Bertulis, a 16-year-old at Johnsburg High School who is battling Ewing's sarcoma. (Jenny Kane)

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Betty Ganschow remembers when her emergency rescue colleague about a decade ago “helped save my life one day.”

Ganschow, of Buffalo Grove, was a 911 dispatcher and worked with Steve Rusin, a firefighter-paramedic with the Buffalo Grove Fire Department.

But one day, Ganschow’s asthma flared to the point that she needed urgent care.

She called 911, and Rusin was one of the guys who responded at her door.

“He took care of me,” she said. “... and I don’t remember a lot other than that.”

“He’s the whole package, personally and professionally, and so is his family. He’s just a good example for everybody.”

Ganschow nominated Rusin, of Island Lake, as an Everyday Hero, not only for his role in saving her life a decade ago, but for the selfless efforts he pursues outside of his job.

Rusin, who’s also a Nunda Township fire captain, runs the northern Illinois chapter of the Guardians of the Ribbon organization, which is a group that raises awareness about cancers as well as gives support for cancer patients.

Ganschow, who’s developed a close friendship with the Rusins over the years, said Rusin goes out of his way for others “just because it’s the right thing to do. He really believes in it.”

The Guardians of the Ribbon group can be identified by the pink fire engines that travel throughout the country.

In June, Rusin bought a 30-foot engine from the Woodstock Fire/
Rescue Department when it consolidated with the Lakewood Fire Department to embark on a campaign for 16-year-old Jessica Bertulis.

Bertulis, of Johnsburg, has bone cancer in her spine and was paralyzed for a time. She’s undergone chemotherapy and physical therapy, and is now able to walk using a walker.

The traditional fire engine red exterior was stripped down for pink. The truck’s interior also was redone with pink floors and cabinets.

The pink truck, named after Jessica Bertulis, is available for showings at events, benefits, private gatherings throughout Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Iowa.

The pink truck tour does not collect money at the fundraising events it travels to, Rusin said. Pink truck T-shirt sales help cover the costs of fuel and truck maintenance.

“The money raised locally goes directly to the family. None of it goes to a national organization,” Rusin said.

It’s the people he gets to meet and their stories that drives Rusin, who’s “not a huggy-feely kind of person” to devote his personal time and resources into the tour.

“It’s rewarding,” he said. “... Driving a pink fire truck, we know we’re not going to stop cancer. But if we can bring a smile, a hug, a positive thought, then that’s what we’re there for.”

The Rusin lowdown

Family: Wife Jennifer and two children, daughter Hannah, 10, and son Joshua, 8.

Hometown: Buffalo Grove and Arlington Heights

School: Stevenson High School, McHenry County College

Favorite movie: Any kind of action movie

Favorite meal: anything from pizza to salmon

Hobbies: Cycling, skiing, camping