A local teacher continues to fight for his life, but as medical costs climb he’s only concerned about raising awareness about Melanoma, the deadly disease he is battling.
“He’s a real inspiration here to many people in our community,” says Richland High School Principal Brandon Bailey.
Brandt Hutzel is a teacher for Richland School District. He’s also a soccer coach, the TSA advisor, yearbook coordinator, and a warrior as he continues to battle stage three Melanoma.
“We thought we really needed to do something for Mr. Hutzel because he’s given to us so greatly and we decided we should probably do the same for him in his time of need,” says Kayla Dallape. However, during his time of need Dallape, a junior at Richland, tells us the teacher she has known since 7th grade continues to only think of others.
“Through his struggles and everything he’s been through he’s never complained about it. All he’s said is I don’t want other people to go through the same thing that I’m going through.”
Hutzel told the school district he would like to raise awareness about Melanoma and protecting yourself in the sun by putting sunscreen dispensers in around the school.
“The kids brainstormed how they could raise some funds to make this happen and they were able to go out and sell some t-shirts with “#TeamHutzel” on them,” Bailey says.
Right now there are sunscreen dispensers at the high school football field and at the elementary school playground.
“Growing up I wasn’t the person that was in the sun a lot. I didn’t get really bad sunburn,” Hutzel tells us.
He says he probably spent a total of five weeks tanning in his entire life, but this is his second battle with Melanoma. To help stop this cancer the students raised $2,000, which covers the cost of the dispensers plus additional sunscreen to refill them.
The t-shirts they sold say “pale is the new tan” on the back to promote awareness about the dangers of tanning beds and the sun.
“Even if a couple kids use it, it could really make a difference for the rest of their lives,” Hutzel adds.
He also says he wants to bring mobile sunscreen dispensers to the community.
