KALISPELL — Since the team's inception, the Glacier Range Riders and Logan Health have been teaming up for numerous promotions, and the "Hero of the Home Series" campaign has highlighted many kids' stories and put smiles on their faces.
For three and a half years, the Range Riders and Logan Health have partnered to bring joy to the hospital’s young patients.
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One way is through their hero promotion, where a patient from Logan Health is given VIP treatment at a Pioneer League game at Glacier Bank Park.
Amy Rohyans Stewart, a child life specialist at Logan Health, says the team has been a positive influence on these kids for years.
“The Range Riders have always been so supportive to the kids at our hospital, and the Hero of the Home Series just takes it to that next level,” Rohyans Stewart said. “There's just nothing more Americana than being able to go and be at a baseball game with your family, and the Range Riders really embracing our patients just takes that to the next level.”
The most recent patient the team embraced was 16-year-old McCall Murer, who was diagnosed with a rare bone marrow disease when he was 13.
When Murer was diagnosed, he had to make a few big changes in his life.
“It affected my ability to do sports and really a lot of contact of any kind really, like physical contact,” Murer said. “It was a little scary in the beginning.”
It’s stories like Murer’s and others that Leo Kelly, manager of business operations with the Range Riders, says the players fully embrace when the heroes step onto the field.
“It's the personal connection there,” Kelly said. “They can maybe relate to some of these stories, whether it be a family member or close friend that had a similar diagnosis, and they get to meet these kids and make an impression on them and kind of make their day, so they've really taken to it.”
After throwing out the first pitch and getting interviewed at the game, it is safe to say that Murer received the hero’s welcome he deserved.
“I feel like the president,” Murer said. “Getting a lot of special treatment, it's very, very awesome that they're doing this for me, and really I feel appreciated.”
