A dream visit to Hawaii to meet TV’s Bounty Hunter was capped off by a provincial award for an Eckville boy who is fighting cancer.

Twelve-year-old Brody Chapman received a Great Kids Award from the provincial government on Sunday at Edmonton’s Fantasyland Hotel for his big-hearted campaign to present other child victims of the disease with scrapbooking kits.

His mother Carmen Chapman said it’s an honour for Brody, who has given out the free Scrapping With Cancer kits to more than 300 children.

“We don’t turn anyone down,” added Carmen, who noted Brody’s effort has gone national and international.

The 23 latest young beneficiaries were in a hospital in Hawaii, where Brody had taken his first-ever flight on June 13 to meet Duane Chapman, hero of the Dog the Bounty Hunter show on the A&E Channel.

Carmen said Brody was able to hand the kits out to the Hawaiian children himself, which he can’t do in Canada because of more restrictive hospital protocol.

“He felt like he was Santa Claus. Just seeing the reaction in the kids’ faces was wonderful.”

Brody also got to ride in a catamaran while in Hawaii and go aboard a submarine.

But the absolute highlight was meeting TV’s bounty hunter Chapman, who is no relation to the Eckville boy but is his biggest hero.

“Brody was overwhelmed, just star-struck,” recalled Carmen.

The visit made possible by the Children’s Wish Foundation was slotted for half an hour, but stretched into an hour-and-a-half because of the TV star’s genuine interest in Brody, added Carmen.

Chapman brought his three youngest children to meet Brody in his real-life bounty hunter office. He even showed the Canadian boy some of his moves.

“He showed him how he puts guys’ arms behind their back to hand-cuff them,” said Carmen. “He’s so family oriented, it was absolutely phenomenal.”

Meeting the bounty hunter was a dream come true for Brody, who had wanted to travel to Edmonton to see Chapman during his Easter appearance in the city in 2007, said Carmen. Instead, Brody had to go into hospital after being diagnosed with leukemia.

Now Carmen said, “We just take it day by day.”

Despite flying back from Hawaii on Saturday morning, Brody was energetic enough to take part in a government-organized scavenger hunt at the Edmonton hotel that evening along with the other 15 young recipients of the Great Kids Awards.

On Sunday, he was expected to receive the award from Premier Ed Stelmach.

Brody’s Scrapping with Cancer scrapbooking kits each cost $65. The kits are made possible in part by Candlelighters of Canada, donations from merchants and fundraising. More information is available at www.scrappingwithcancer.ca

Contact Lana Michelin at lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com