Axel Mead (left) and Ruger Henrie (Right) present the donation to Castle Dale Mayor pro-tempe Brad Giles (Center)
By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News | Photos courtesy of AnnDee Mead
What happens when you combine a desire to give back to the community and a love for rodeo? Eight-year-old Axel Mead asked the question and discovered that the answer was over $6,000 raised for the construction of an all-abilities playground in Castle Dale, Utah.
Upon learning of the planned park project, Mead’s mind immediately turned to his friend Ruger Henrie, who is battling Duchenne muscular dystrophy – a rare, progressive, muscle-wasting disease affecting approximately one in 3,500 to 5,000 male births.
Wanting to have a positive impact on his friend and the community, Mead began brainstorming how he could help give to the project. Eventually, he turned to his love of rodeo and goat-tying, electing to host a series of goat-tying jackpot events.
Uniting rodeo families from across southern Utah with friends and supporters of Henrie, the community engaged with the event in full force, organizing a raffle to coincide with the jackpot event.
Local businesses and residents donated generously, contributing prizes and cash to the cause. Tickets were sold en masse, helping bolster the amount raised for Henrie and his family.
The goal was originally to raise $500, but the event quickly surpassed this, raising $2,000 from the jackpot alone. Initially, prize money was awarded to each goat-tying champion, but each winner requested that the money be returned to the cause.
“It was overwhelming the number of kids who immediately took their winnings and said thank you, but please donate it back,” said AnnDee Mead, Axel’s mother. “This has been such an incredible opportunity for Axel to learn about giving back and helping his community. It was even more meaningful to have Ruger and his family involved every step of the way.”
Word quickly spread of this fundraising effort, attracting the attention of Richfield-based Baldoff Excavation, which offered to match the fundraiser’s earnings dollar-for-dollar, rapidly increasing the amount raised to over $4,000. In addition to this boost, the raffle raised an additional $2,000, bringing the sum above $6,000 for the park.
The time to complete the donation came on Thursday, Oct. 9, as Axel Mead – alongside Henrie – presented the money to the Castle Dale City Council.
“This is an amazing, amazing feat these two young men undertook,” said Mayor pro-tempe Brad Giles. “For those of you who don’t know what’s going on, Mayor (Danny) Van Wagoner has championed the cause to build an all-inclusive playground. It’s for any youth, whatever their abilities are, it’s for everybody.”
Presenting the donation to the city, Axel Mead explained that his favorite parts of the fundraising process were “drawing raffle tickets” and “beating my dad in the goat-tying showdown.”
“Thank you to everyone who helped, donated, or cheered us on,” said the young cowboy. “I can’t wait to see the park built right here in Castle Dale.”
Both Henrie and the park have experienced additional community support beyond the fundraiser, with the Emery County Commission donating land for the park and Huntington Elementary hosting a T-shirt fundraiser for Henrie.
The Castle Dale all-abilities playground would mark the second such structure in the Castle Country, with the first being the Helper Express Playground, which celebrated its grand opening in May.