Mark Pixley
RENEW Board Member

Welcome Mark Pixley, the newest member of the RENEW board. Hardly a stranger to the region, Mark was raised in what he describes as the “heart of the Black Hills” in South Dakota. His family moved to Sheridan in 1977.

The Pixley family has always embraced the entrepreneurial spirit. Mark says it was great fun working in the supper club, the dude ranch and the motel his parents operated during his childhood and Pixley Transportation was the hauler of choice for the work crews at the then Burlington Northern Railroad.

Operating those vehicles in several western states, Mark realized what would become his future vocation of choice. Windshields were often cracked by hail or rocks and repairs were problematic. Enter the Windshield Doctor in 1982. Mark has for several years now operated three Novus Auto Glass owner-operated franchises in Sheridan, Gillette and Buffalo and his business is one of only two certified Novus training centers for new employees in the country.

Mark Pixley’s life took a 180 degree turn in 2004. He rolled his car and, overnight, became a quadriplegic. Four months of rehab at Craig Hospital in Denver, though, and Mark was ready to “take back his life.”

Back in the Cowboy State, Pixley is a member of the Wyoming State Rehabilitation Council and, as indicated earlier, now on the RENEW Board of Directors.

In Mark’s words: “One of the things that’s helped me deal with this wheelchair was looking around and seeing a lot of folks who are less fortunate than myself. There’s a whole new light when you’re disabled. WIth my new pair of eyes, I now see how I have the opportunity of helping others.”

Pixley has kept his word. When not commuting between the three Novus locations, he’s volunteering his time to help others with disabilities -- including the many projects at RENEW.

Mark, we should also point out, has some time for the other “loves of his life” -- two daughters, three grandchildren, his black lab service dog Cinda whom he trained himself and, lest we forget, a love of hunting and fishing. On the drawing board, Pixley points out, are outdoor excursions to Texas, Mexico and Africa.

There are times, Mark admits, when his disability may slow him down. He may say it but we’ve yet to see it. Mark Pixley is a man on the move.

Colleen Osborne
RENEW Vice Chairperson

Colleen is a 15-year RENEW board veteran.

Colleen divides her life into at least three parts. “I was born in Chicago where I went to school and raised a family.” She calls that “career number one.”

She moved to Wyoming in 1982 and began what she called “career number two” which included teaching and working at the BOCES School in Gillette. After many years of working with persons with disabilities at BOCES, it was time for “career number three”: Colleen went back to school (Gillette College) for her CNA (certified nursing assistant) degree and worked as an outreach person at the Senior Center.

Seven years ago, Ms. Osborne began what she labels, of course, “career number four” -- She remarried and retired. Her objective in life now? “It’s to have fun.”

Life is fun for Colleen even as she continues to be an advocate for persons with special needs. Osborne says, “it’s been rewarding and I have a personal investment. My son has been diagnosed with multiple disabilities.”

Regarding his longtime tenure on the RENEW Board of Directors, Colleen Osborne doesn’t mince words or feelings. “It’s absolutely vital that people with disabilities have advocates in society. That’s what RENEW does; that’s what I do.”

Shirley Harder
RENEW Board Treasurer 

Vice President in charge of operations and credit card programs at  First State Bank Shirley attended business school in Portland, Oregon and then went on to become an employee of First State Bank for the past 31 years.  Shirley has taken on many side jobs and been promoted steadily upward from numerous positions to the present one as Vice President in charge of Operations and Credit Card programs at First State Bank Shirley is married to Tom and they have four children and three grandchildren.  In her spare time she likes to play golf, bridge and take trips to Deadwood.   Shirley has volunteered at RENEW for about five years and is also involved as a co-captain and co-treasurer for Relay for Life, treasurer for Catholic Daughters and treasurer for an investment club and president of the Newcastle Country Club.

Larry Samson
CEO/President RENEW Board

Larry Samson has been the CEO and President of RENEW for 27 years. His “journey” at Rehabilitation Enterprises of North Eastern Wyoming, his awards, accolades and contributions to the field would fill a good-sized book but there’s also a somewhat lesser known story of Larry that makes for a great read and perhaps sheds some light why this man is where he is today. We present
this other, truncated narrative.

Born in western Iowa, it was the Great Flood of 1950, an explosion at a government ammunition depot and finally medical advice that Larry’s mom seek a sunnier climate that prompted Donald and Charlotte to leave their midwestern roots with their two children Larry and Dick in tow.

With a suggested destination of Arizona, Colorado’s Fort Collins was a way station that in 1953 became the new Samson domicile. It was there that Larry graduated from Fort Collins High School and also got some disturbing news: a heart murmur would prevent him from participating in the contact sports he loved so much. It would also, the doctors said, pare his life expectancy down to an eye-opening 40 to 45 years. continued...

Mike Lane
RENEW Board

Mike Lane graduated from Cajon High School in San Bernardina California and moved to Newcastle Wyoming where he works as a laborer for RENEW Recycling and has other part time jobs. His community interests include the Knights of Columbus, and he actively participates in all church events with the Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Newcastle, Wyoming.