First Make-A-Wish Wyoming recipient was from Powell

As Powell students and residents gathered to raise an estimated $10,000 for Make-A-Wish Wyoming over the weekend, a local family was reminded of the first wish granted in the state 30 years ago.

Ten-year-old Brian Decker, originally from Powell, received a BMX bike from Make-A-Wish Wyoming in October 1985. The organization had just received an official charter in September 1985 and hadn’t granted a wish yet when Brian’s older sister shared his story with Make-A-Wish leaders in Wyoming.

Brian was diagnosed with brain cancer in 1982, said his mother, Connie, who lives in Powell.

Brian was born and raised in Powell and attended Southside Elementary School. His family later moved to Gillette.

“We went to a bike show in Gillette, and when he saw the show, he loved it. He had to have a bike,” Connie said.

On a cold October morning in 1985, Brian got his wish.

“With the first complete turn of the bike’s wheel, Make-A-Wish Wyoming granted its first wish, setting in motion a tradition of serving children battling life-threatening conditions across the state for decades to come,”  according to a summary on the Make-A-Wish Wyoming website. “The feeling of hope Brian felt on that cold day in October is the same feeling nearly 500 other children have since experienced because of a wish.”

Brian enjoyed riding his bike, Connie said. He only got to use it for a few months before he passed away in December 1985.

His family is glad to see the organization continue to grant wishes for kids, Connie said.

“We very much believe in Make-A-Wish,” she said.

Considering Brian’s wish for a bike, it’s quite fitting that this year’s Make-A-Wish event in Powell included the Tour de Wish bike race.

In addition to a bike race, Saturday’s fundraiser organized by PHS Student Council and National Honor Society members also featured a dinner, auctions, color run and walk.

The $10,000 raised over the weekend in Powell will help grant at least one wish, said Ben Wetzel, student body secretary for the PHS Student Council.

“The average cost of a wish is $7,000, so that will cover close to one-and-a-half (wishes),” Wetzel said.

About 60 people competed in the Tour de Wish color run/walk/bicycle event Saturday morning and close to 150 residents attended the dinner/auctions that evening, Wetzel said.

“We were really surprised and really happy with the amount of support from the community,” he said. He added that the students appreciate all of the support from business sponsors and residents.

Wetzel said multiple other events were scheduled on Saturday, including the Trapper Bonanza golf tournament, a fundraiser in Cody for the wrestlers and family members injured in a vehicle accident and the Montana Women’s Run.

“There were a lot of different events going on in our area that day and evening, and we still had great support from the community,” Wetzel said.

Powell High School is one of several schools in Wyoming to raise money for Make-A-Wish.

“Wyoming high schools are the No. 6 contributor to Make-A-Wish in the world,” Wetzel said. “All of the Wyoming high schools combined contribute almost as much money every single year as Walmart and McDonald’s do, they’re No. 4 and 5.”

He said New York is the only state where high schools donate more than Wyoming’s schools.

In addition to making a difference in the lives of kids, Make-A-Wish also “makes an incredible difference in everyone involved in the process.

“Working with pediatric illnesses like that takes a toll on everyone — the doctors, family, friends, care staff, everyone,” Wetzel said. “To see that change and how much it can really make a difference in a kid’s life helps so many people, not just the kid.”

Inspired by Brian Decker’s first wish and to mark Make-A-Wish Wyoming’s 30th anniversary, other Tour de Wish biking events are planned this summer in Rock Springs, Lander, Casper, Gillette and Laramie. For more information, visit the Make-A-Wish Wyoming website at wyoming.wish.org.