The organizers of Dreams in Motion pretty much just wanted to talk about the Facebook video of Bryson Quinney – a young heart transplant recipient and the first to be recognized as one of “these heroes in our midst.”
“I lost it when I watched the video,” said Dreams in Motion board member Cody Beers during a recent episode of SVI Radio’s Weekday Wake-Up. “It affirmed what we’re about.”
Bruce Tippets said he watches that video of Bryson “all of the time. It was pretty awesome to … see the emotion.”
Tippets, with co-organizer of Dreams in Motion Joel Brown, along with Beers, spoke about their coalition of corporate and other connected business people Jan. 7 over Swift 98 & The Spur, part of SVI Media’s radio network. In this morning segment with SVI’s Duke Dance, broadcasting to all of Lincoln County and the Bridger Valley, the three related their efforts to create the non-profit Dreams in Motion and their experience recognizing the first recipient to be honored as an everyday hero and “beacon of hope” after undergoing incredibly challenging health issues.
Under the auspices of the coalition, each recipient of the Dreams in Motion honor receives a “dream, first-class experience” to a sporting event, for example a trip to Salt Lake City for a Utah Jazz game or a University of Wyoming football or basketball game. For Quinney, a young man in Lyman, Wyoming, who received a new heart less than a year ago, he and his parents are receiving an all-expenses paid trip and accommodations to Salt Lake City to watch his beloved Utah Jazz.
“He is the perfect example of whom we want to recognize,” Tippets related on his Facebook page that includes the video of Quinney opening his letter from Dreams in Motion. In the video, the young man begins to read the letter out loud but is unable to finish and asks his mother to finish reading it. The emotion is palpable.
Quinney is the son of well-known Wyoming sports official Eric Quinney, who has chronicled his son’s heart recipient journey on social media, #BrysonStrong.
“Bryson continues to be a beacon of hope in the transplant community, and we felt strongly that Bryson is our first publicly acknowledged hero for Dreams in Motion,” Beers told Dance.
Tippets knows something about Bryson’s journey. Two years ago, after being on dialysis for four and a half years, the reporter for the Vernal Express in Vernal, Utah, received a kidney transplant.
“I feel blessed every day to have a kidney and obviously I love sports. We just wanted to give back to people because I’ve been lucky,” Tippets said.
So with the Vernal Chamber of Commerce director Joel Brown and others involved in the coalition, they launched Dreams in Motion.
“Last year [Bruce] went to the Utah state legislature and got a bill passed for living donors. Once he got that done, I saw his passion and drive and desire to give back. He has seen how those blessings extended his life and so he’s wanted to give back and help those people who like sports and give them a dream.”
Tippets is a native of Riverton, Wyoming, and knew Beers, a play-by-play announcer in Fremont County. Together with others they decided to “recognize people who are coming through something and are coming out of it and living and showing everyone in the world that it’s possible with strong faith and belief that you can emerge a person who can live a normal life,” Beers related.
“Bruce is one of my heroes, and it’s a privilege to be a friend. He has brought this coalition of people together, which includes Wyoming guys like Brad Enzi, the son of our retired U.S. senator.”
Brown explained to Dance that the board of directors and coalition for Dreams in Motion include those in the hospitality industry and in the sporting event industry, including Steve Brown, a well-known Utah media personality. In fact, Brown himself was recently featured by Deseret News columnist Lee Benson for his own battle with kidney disease and the need for a transplant. (Please see Deseret News, Aug. 16, 2020.
In addition, one of the newest members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Blake Moore, of Utah, is also a member of the Dreams in Motion team.
“We’re always looking for funding,” Brown told The Spur’s Dance. “It’s difficult especially with the COVID time to get tickets to things like that. We’re always looking for avenues to help with funding.”
And with that funding comes the hope of continuing the purpose of Dreams in Motion. As Beers said, “We plan to recognize three heroes in 2021, and hopefully more in the upcoming years.”
