The Idaho chapter of Make-A-Wish Foundation, an international organization that grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions, won the organization’s Infinite Wish at a conference this week.

The award is given to the wish given each year to a chapter that involved an entire community in making a child’s wish come true. It was chosen from the 13,600 wishes that were given nationally.

“We are so proud and excited,” said Nancy Berry, the chapter’s program services director who accepted the award at the conference in Phoenix.

The wish that won was for Mitch Kohler, who has a progressive genetic condition called spinal muscular atrophy. His wish was to star in a “Star Wars” movie. Led by the One Stone Foundation, a service-learning program at Riverstone International School in Boise, Make-A-Wish asked screenwriter Doug Cole to work on a script with Kohler and his class at Rolling Hills Charter School in Eagle. Make-A-Wish also enlisted Academy-Award winning director Ben Shedd to organize a large production crew. Then they put Mitch in the director’s chair, giving him final decisions on everything, and invited the community to attend a premiere screening at the Egyptian Theatre in May.

The production of “Star Waiters,” a 15-minute “Star Wars” parody, shut down Grove Street last April in Boise’s Linen District for a Bollywood-style finale with a cast of hundreds. Mitch starred as Luke Piewalker, his classmates and parents, Kevin and Kelly Kohler, as other characters.

“This has been such a great project,” said Shedd, who has been the biggest cheerleader for the project since it began. “This shows what this community can do. I’ve taken to calling us Boisewood.”

“Star Waiters” also won the Idaho International Film Festival’s audience award for best short film in September. This is the second time Make-A-Wish of Idaho has won this award. In 2005, it won for another One Stone wish project that built a tree house for Zeke Parent.

The chapter also won an award for its new corporate partnership with Hewelett-Packard Co. and Snapfish, its on-line photo service, that will benefit Make-A-Wish on a national level, Berry said.

Dana Oland: 377-6442