Okemo makes a Christmas wish assist

When Okemo Mountain Resort’s Ski + Ride School Assistant Director Rob Bevier learned about a young boy’s Christmas dream to snowboard at Okemo with his Iraq-deployed dad, Bevier leaped into action to make it happen.

On Christmas Eve, masslive.com posted this story about an 8-year-old Palmer, Mass., boy whose only wish for Christmas was that his dad, Army National Guard Spec. Michael J. Hawk, make it home from Iraq for the holidays.

Although the plan was for the elder Hawk to surprise his son at school a couple of days before Christmas, a delayed flight moved the surprise to young Devan’s swim team holiday party – where Michael arrived, still in military uniform.

In the masslive.com article, Reporter Lori Stabile wrote, “The happiness on Devan's face was still evident two days after his father returned home, as they talked about their plans for the next two weeks, which include a trip to Toys R Us and snowboarding, possibly at Okemo in Vermont.”

That was all Rob Bevier needed to know to put the wheels in motion. A few days later, Devan and his dad were learning to snowboard together courtesy of Okemo Mountain Resort. Okemo’s Tyler Longland and Gordon Robbins, a living legend in the world of snowboard instruction, had Devan and his dad sliding, stopping and making turns in no time. When asked how he liked snowboarding, Devan replied, “I love it!”