Colton

A Newbury Park wife and working mother of three with a life-affirming story to tell will be honored this week in Westlake Village with a Celebration of Hope award from The Wellness Community Valley/Ventura.

Honoree Nancy Colton will receive the award at the local Wellness Community's 17th anniversary gala fundraiser on Friday at the Four Seasons Hotel.

The event caps quite a month for Colton, who has battled breast cancer since 2005. Since then, Colton has documented her story of courage and hope for visitors to The Wellness Community Valley/Ventura's home page.

"The most amazing aspect of this life-changing event is gaining the perspective of how important it is to live life in the moment," she said.

Nancy and Rick, her husband of 23 years, learned that in a profound way this month.

Lifelong Dodger fans, they got to live a dream on Mother's Day, when Nancy threw out the first pitch at Dodger Stadium. That same day, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Melissa Manchester, who is a friend of Nancy's mom, sang the national anthem at the game — along with "Power of Ribbons," a song she wrote in Nancy's honor.

Rick credits the entire Mother's Day celebration to Vickie Gutierrez, a Dodger usher who happened to notice one day that the diehard fans had returned to the game after a long absence and, noting Nancy's apparent illness; Gutierrez, herself a cancer survivor, arranged to have a team ambassador surprise the Coltons later in the game with the presentation of Dodgers hats and shirts as gifts.

According to published reports, Gutierrez kept quiet about her deed, feigning ignorance later in the game when Rick asked if she was the one who had tipped off stadium officials that day.

But Rick knew. And in his efforts to properly thank Gutierrez for the gesture, he returned to Dodger Stadium one day to be sure she was properly credited for her deed, only to coincidentally meet up with Dodger team owner Frank McCourt.

McCourt reportedly spoke with Rick at length about the story and the Mother's Day festivities were arranged.

That same weekend, on May 10, Nancy Colton appeared onstage with Manchester at the 15th annual Entertainment Industry Foundation Revlon Run/Walk for Women Los Angeles, helping to kick off the event.

The gala on Friday will feature — in addition to the award presentation to Nancy Colton — emcee Terry Paulson, Ph.D., an internationally renowned motivational speaker and author, and entertainment by the Harry Selvin Orchestra.

Dinner and a live auction also will be featured.

Auction items will include a weeklong New Year's Orlando, Fla., resort getaway; a week in Breckinridge, Colo.; a two-night stay and wine package at Paso Robles' Hotel Cheval; and a one-week Christmas ski vacation in Park City, Utah. Proceeds will benefit the organization's free programs.

The gala will be followed by the annual National Cancer Survivors Day Picnic on Saturday.

For more on the gala, visit http://www.twcvv.org or call Maddy Sattler at 379-4777. Tickets are $225 each.

Nationally, The Wellness Community provides support, education and hope for people affected by cancer at more than 100 locations worldwide, including 24 U.S.-based and two international centers, with 73 satellite and off-site programs and online at the Virtual Wellness Community.

For more information, to volunteer or to make a donation to The Wellness Community Valley/Ventura, visit http://www.twcvv.org.