Conductor Jon Jon Arrives in Reno ~ Make A Wish Dream Come True

June 21, 2014
This adorable, little one is not in our family, but was also there to greet Jon Jon and had a great sign!

Our family had the privilege of being part of the welcoming party for eight-year-old Conductor Jonathan Dockins when he arrived at the Reno Amtrak Station yesterday, June 20, 2014.

Hubby found out about it two days before and got right to work to help make Conductor Jon Jon’s day even better. He worked with our state governor’s office to get a proclamation and Jon Jon’s big day to be in his honor in the state of Nevada. You can see a copy of the official proclamation by Governor Brian Sandoval here.

He also got some great goodies from his work place, Union Pacific Railroad, and from the Western Pacific Railroad Museum, where we are members and volunteer regularly.

It was an amazing experience! We thoroughly enjoyed being involved with even just the little part that we were privileged to a part of.

If you want to know more about Jonathan’s story and his dream to drive a train through the Donner Pass, you can read more about it here.

 

Waiting for Conductor Jon Jon’s Arrival at the Reno Amtrak Station

The crowd starts to gather in the Reno trench.
“Buddy” and Bruno from the Reno Bighorns pose together while waiting for Jon Jon’s arrival.
“Buddy” and several area teen pageant winners ~ He was a happy 13 year old boy! 😉
They decided to have a goofy picture, too…
Bruno photobombed!
Archie photobombed Bruno’s photobomb attempt….lol

Conductor Jon Jon’s Arrival at the Reno Amtrak Station

Here comes Conductor Jon Jon!
Stepping out of the engine at the Reno Station.

Standing tall and looking proud.
Jon Jon getting some great goodies from Archie and the Reno Aces.
Getting a basketball and other goodies from Bruno and the Reno Bighorns.
Getting ready to have his picture taken with the area pageant winners. He was all smiles, too. 😉
Jon Jon, his parents, and my hubby as he was introducing himself as the local union chairman, gave him his card, and said something like that now that he is a conductor… if he has any concerns about railroad safety, he knows who he can call…. It was really cute, but done in a professional way.
This was when Jon Jon and his parents found out about the Proclamation from Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval.
Jon Jon showing off his Proclamation with my hubby and BLET Chairman, Matthew Parker. Matt Klink (Jon Jon’s engineer for his trip to Reno) is seen in the back left in the red shirt and overalls.
Looking in his bags of goodies from the Union Pacific Railroad and the Western Pacific Railroad Museum.
This was a fun time afterward when the news lady was getting a little more footage. Jon Jon then signed a few autographs on some pictures. By the way, if anyone knows if any part of this ever showed up on the local news, please post a link in the comments. I cannot find it anywhere. Thanks!
This was an amazing experience and not one I will ever forget! It was actually a fluke that “Buddy” and I were even able to be in town for this event, because we were supposed to be volunteering at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum all day. It was only because we changed things around a few weeks earlier just so that Buddy could join his special needs cheer team with Reno Elite All-Stars (you can send me a comment or message to get more information about the team) when they all went to the Reno Aces game last night. I just keep thinking about how wonderful it is that all of this just fell into place so wonderfully! 
 
* UPDATE *
 
We actually had the opportunity to take Jon and his dad to the Western Pacific Railroad Museum where we very frequently volunteer in order for Jon to run the Southern Pacific 2873 road freight engine…. so now he is an ENGINEER!  Read about it here!
 
*  This was originally posted on my previous blog on June 21, 2014.

 

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