12-24 Club Founder Honored with Cowboy Code Try Award

The founder of the 12-24 Club in Casper will be this year's recipient of the Mick & Susie McMurry Cowboy Code Try Award.

Dan Cantine started the club in 1993 providing meeting spaces for various 12-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Co-Dependents Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Al-Anon, Eating Disorders Anonymous, and grief support groups.

He said “When you’re young, you think life’s a party. My friends moved on from that phase of life, and I didn’t. I desperately wanted to stop drinking. There was a point when I knew I couldn’t do this anymore.” Dan entered a 12-step program and recently celebrated 38 years of sobriety. Eight years into his sobriety journey, he and others in recovery had a vision for a place where people could seek help and meet regularly. After six months of planning, the 12-24 Club opened its doors in Mills. It is currently open today on Wolcott Street in Casper.

In addition to these programs, the Club serves meals at the Fresh Start Cafe. He recommends their world-famous french fries. It’s called the 12-24 Club because many members have found sobriety through the various 12-step programs, they emphasize taking it “a day at a time” therefore “24 hours,” and because it represents a Club where individuals support each other, as recovery cannot typically be achieved alone, but often can together.

Dan said “It’s all about helping that ONE person. Every day someone walks through those doors sad and scared, and we get to watch them leave with a sliver of hope. You can see the difference this place makes.”

Every year the Mick & Susie McMurry Cowboy Code Try Award honors a person in the community who has lived out the Cowboy Code to its fullest. “The Try” is a noun given to someone who has the quality of giving 110 percent to the task or challenge at hand. Dan is the embodiment of “The Try,” having helped thousands of people in his lifetime.

When asked what advice to people who are struggling with addiction, Dan said “Ask for help. Whether you are struggling yourself or know someone who is, reach out. There are people who want to help.”