On September 8, 2020, at 11:30am, Major Jim Lane proclaimed Make-A-Wish Day in Scottsdale, Arizona, along with presenting Make-A-Wish co-founder, Linda Pauling, and Make-A-Wish Arizona President and CEO, Elizabeth Reich, with the sign which gave 78th Street the honorary designation of Make-A-Wish Way, where it intersects with Thomas Road. 2020 marked the anniversary of the first wish ever granted, which was to Linda Pauling’s son, Chris Greicius. Chris was 7 years old, had leukemia, and wanted to be a police officer. Linda had a friend in law enforcement who helped arrange for Chris to be the first honorary Department of Public Safety officer for a day, on April 29, 1980.
Make-A-Wish Day and Make-A-Wish Way resulted from Citizen Advisor, Bruce Wall, researching stories for an upcoming Neighborhood College presentation. Bruce and Neighborhood Watch Coordinator, Jamie Petermann, met with Linda Pauling and Elizabeth Reich in 2019 at the Make-A-Wish house, where they heard the story of how Chris’ wish was first granted in 1980 and how Make-A-Wish was founded. Elizabeth expressed their desire to mark 2020, the 40th Anniversary of Chris’ wish, by renaming 78th Street as Make-A-Wish Way. The proclamation and dedication, as well as the acknowledgement by Scottsdale City Council were postponed until September due to the closures and cancellations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many City of Scottsdale staff members and Make-A-Wish leadership collaborated to make the dedication and proclamation possible.
CCL-HIS-2020-6096: Mayor Jim Lane, Linda Pauling, and Elizabeth Reich pose with Sign 3; CCL-HIS-2020-6097: Mayor Lane, Linda Pauling, and Elizabeth Reich wear face masks while holding the honorary sign; CCL-HIS-2020-6098: Mayor Jim Lane reads the Make-A-Wish Day proclamation.
Photography by Jessica Lema.
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