Most people would like to think they’d act as Ryan Pasborg did Feb. 1, 2022, when he rushed into a burning Green River home to save a mother and her child stuck inside, but it’s impossible to know until faced with that situation.
Pasborg’s life has changed a lot since that fateful day, receiving a Carnegie Medal — the nation’s highest civilian honor for heroism — and a new job and career as a result of his heroic actions that day.
On Saturday night, Pasborg was awarded his Carnegie Medal by Gov. Mark Gordon at the Governor’s Mansion in Cheyenne.
As Gordon presented Pasborg the award, the Rock Springs resident’s eyes welled up.
“I never thought it would happen,” Pasborg explained to Cowboy State Daily after the presentation. “I never believed it would go as far as this.”
Gordon said the “One Wyoming” slogan used by the University of Wyoming reminds him of Pasborg, whose sacrifice and heroism epitomizes the state’s hardy culture and dedication to the Code of the West.
“Here, we can count on heroes like Ryan,” Gordon said. “We get a toughness and a grit from our shared experiences, from our weather and from a oneness in looking out for each other.”
Gordon also presented Pasborg with a Wyoming State Challenge Coin, which is given to all Wyoming National Guardsmen and those who have done remarkable acts in the Cowboy State.
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, from left, Karmin Pace, Ryan Pasborg and Pace-O-Matic founder and Chairman Michael Pace at the Governor's Mansion in Cheyenne on April 27, 2024, to present Pasborg with the Carnegie Medal, the nation's highest civilian honor for heroism. (Matt Idler for Cowboy State Daily) 
Gov. Mark Gordon, right, meets Stephanie Wadsworth and her son, Weston, and the rest of their family at the Governor's Mansion in Cheyenne on April 27, 2024. Stephanie and Weston were pulled out of a burning trailer the morning of Feb. 1, 2022, by local resident Ryan Pasborg. The family and Pasborg were in Cheyenne to receive his Carnegie Medal. (Matt Idler for Cowboy State Daily) 
Ryan Pasborg, right, receives the Carnegie Medal from Gov. Mark Gordon on April 27, 2024, at the Governor's Mansion in Cheyenne. The medal is the nation's highest civilian honor for heroism. He saved a mother and her young son from a burning trailer on his way to work the morning of Feb. 1, 2022. (Matt Idler for Cowboy State Daily)
New Opportunities
Pasborg was unemployed in December when it was announced he was awarded the Carnegie Medal. He had recently been laid off from his job as an oil field worker while on medical leave for a benign tumor.
Pace-O-Matic, a software company that creates Cowboy Skill games, knew Pasborg from honoring him at Cheyenne Frontier Days in 2022.
When representatives from the company learned he was unemployed, they instantly knew that’s the type of person they want on their team and offered him a job.
“He fits right into what Pace-O-Matic does,” said Paul Goldean, president and CEO. “It’s about caring for your community, it’s about taking that extra step, doing those things that most people are never faced with doing.”
These words mean a little more considering that Goldean served five years as a special ops Army Ranger.
“For him to do what he did is of the utmost caliber of person from my experience,” he said.
The deep sense of selflessness and character Pasborg showed is also a necessary trait in the gaming industry, said Pace-O-Matic founder and Chairman Michael Pace.
“We’re in an industry full of crooks, and we’re not,” he said. “That’s why we’re fighting all the time to distinguish ourselves, and we thought who better to help do that?”
Karma Comes Around
Pasborg had been offered a new job on the oil field shortly before Pace-O-Matic made their offer, but his pastor gave him a message that he should never work in the oil fields again.
Pasborg said if it weren’t for that guidance, he might have turned down the Pace-O-Matic opportunity.
Pasborg had no past experience relevant to his new job, but that doesn’t matter to Goldean, who said his high sense of character makes him easy to teach, adding that he’s doing a great job.
The company flew Pasborg out to the company’s headquarters in Georgia for training, where Goldean said it felt like Pasborg was hiring Pace-O-Matic, not the other way around.
In his role, Pasborg represents the company and its machines throughout Wyoming. It’s a job, Goldean said, that requires working with little guidance, but heaps of local knowledge.
“We needed someone in Wyoming, and we found someone special in Wyoming,” Goldean said.
Pasborg said it’s a job that’s changed his life. He now plans to retire with the company.
“It’s a dream,” he said. “They’re amazing people.”
Ryan Pasborg ran into this burning house to save a Green River woman and her son. (Courtesy Photo) 
Ryan Pasborg ran into this burning house to save a Green River woman and her son. (Courtesy Photo) 
Ryan Pasborg with his boys. (Courtesy Photo) 
Ryan Pasborg was honored by the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office after saving a woman and her child from a burning trailer. He's now also been recognized with the Carnegie Medal, North America's highest civilian honor for heroism. (Courtesy Photo)
Role Model
Pasborg said he expects his three children to act just as he did in 2022 if presented with a similar situation, when he crawled on his hands and knees to rescue Stephanie Wadsworth and her 4-year-old son Weston from the burning home, both of whom were unconscious.
Wadsworth and Weston also were at Saturday’s award presentation to see their personal hero be recognized.
“It’s amazing, we wouldn’t be here without him,” she said.
Whether it’s being polite to strangers or holding doors, what matters to Pasborg is taking the extra step to help out others.
“I raise my kids the same exact way,” he said. “I teach my kids how I was raised. That’s a family thing that will be passed down forever.”
When he showed his son Braxton the Carnegie Medal, Braxton remarked, “That’s awesome,” to which Pasborg gave him a big hug.
Pure Instinct
Pasborg said it was pure instinct and adrenaline that kicked in when he made his rescue on Feb. 1, 2022. He has no memory of any thoughts he had during the rescue.
Pasborg was already late for work that day, but when he saw the flames shoot up from the home and no fire trucks in the area, Pasborg said he knew had to stop and help the three little children – still in their pajamas – who he saw fleeing from the home.
When they told him their mom and little brother were still inside, Pasborg bolted through the kitchen door and into the burning structure.
He couldn’t see anything because of the thick smoke, so Pasborg said he had to crawl until he felt the child’s legs. He grabbed the boy and took him outside. Worried about the subzero temperatures, Pasborg put all of the children in his truck to stay warm.
He then went back into the burning home and found the mother on the floor badly burned and unconscious.
After rescuing her from the house, Pasborg performed CPR on Wadsworth and then drove her and her children to emergency responders.
When Pasborg’s son Braxton heard the news about what his father had done, he said he couldn’t believe it.
“I thought he was lying,” he said.
Weston said he couldn’t believe it either. And now, the young man says he’s certain he wants to be a firefighter when he grows up.
Pasborg said he plans to keep in touch with the Wadsworths for the rest of his life, and their families plan to go camping together this summer.
Pasborg is one of the first Wyomingites to be recognized by the Carnegie Hero Fund. In March, it was announced that Evanston native Kendell Cummings will be awarded a Carnegie Medal for his role in saving a wrestling teammate who was being attacked by a grizzly bear in 2022.
Contact Leo Wolfson at leo@cowboystatedaily.com
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
