10-year-old boy who beat cancer traveled across the country to learn how Wisconsin cheese is made.

ST. CLOUD - Maxx Ball, a 10-year-old from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who beat cancer, recently got a behind-the-scenes look at Sargento Foods Inc.’s cheese-making process.

In partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Ball and his family traveled to Wisconsin before Thanksgiving, meeting Gov. Tony Evers and visiting the Center for Dairy Research, House on the Rock, Lambeau Field, Road America and Sargento’s Baker Cheese Plant.

Maxx was granted the wish after winning nearly a yearlong fight against Ewing sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer that fewer than 5,000 people have in the United States, according to estimates from the National Institutes of Health.

At the Baker Cheese facility, Maxx and his family got a tour and made their own string cheese.

“He helped us put some of the ingredients, did some tests for us. Things that a 10-year-old kid can do with a little bit of training and supervision,” Brian Baker, general manager at Baker Cheese Plant, said. “It was a lot of fun. And he really enjoyed it and so did we.”

Maxx Ball, 10, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, pours salt on cheese curds under the supervision of a Sargento Baker Cheese facility employee, Tuesday, November 22, 2022, in St. Cloud, Wis. Ball, who has beaten a form of bone cancer got his chance to see string cheese being made at the plant through Make-A-Wish.
Maxx Ball, 10, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, pours salt on cheese curds under the supervision of a Sargento Baker Cheese facility employee, Tuesday, November 22, 2022, in St. Cloud, Wis. Ball, who has beaten a form of bone cancer got his chance to see string cheese being made at the plant through Make-A-Wish.

Baker said Maxx was very engaged and had a lot of questions, like how the facility keeps milk from spoiling, how long it takes to make cheese and how many sticks are made in a day.

“He (Maxx) definitely used ‘This is awesome!’ quite a bit,” Baker said. “He had a lot of smiles, as did his younger sister and the parents.”

Although Sargento has been a long-time supporter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, this is the first wish the company has been able to grant, Karen Lepisto, vice president of human resources and community relations for Sargento, said.

“(It) is a unique wish to be granted, you know, versus Disney or Final Four or something like that,” Baker said.

More:This Wisconsin cheese company paid the mortgages of 28 Milwaukee Habitat homeowners for a year. Here’s the impact it had.

Maxx Ball, 10, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, wears a smiling warm hat upon arrival for his Make-A-Wish tour of the Sargento Baker Cheese plant,Tuesday, November 22, 2022, in St. Cloud, Wis. Ball has beaten Ewing Sarcoma, a form of bone cancer.
Maxx Ball, 10, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, wears a smiling warm hat upon arrival for his Make-A-Wish tour of the Sargento Baker Cheese plant,Tuesday, November 22, 2022, in St. Cloud, Wis. Ball has beaten Ewing Sarcoma, a form of bone cancer.

Portia Young, director of corporate public relations for Sargento, said she asked Lauren, Maxx’s mom, what made him want to come to Wisconsin.

“She said ... he loves all things dairy: milk, cheese, you name it, that's Maxx,” Young said. “She said, ‘Most kids want to go to Disney, but not my son.’”

Lepisto and Baker said Sargento was honored to have Maxx and his family.

“He's a fun-loving — like any other 10-year-old kid, right?” Lepisto said. “It was pretty cool.”

More:Sheboygan woman recounts her father's legacy as the co-founder of Old Wisconsin

Contact Alex Garner at 224-374-2332 or agarner@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @alexx_garner

The Ball family of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, poses with the Sargento mascot before getting a tour on how string cheese is produced at the plant, Tuesday, November 22, 2022, in St. Cloud, Wis. Through Make-A-Wish, Maxx Bell, 10, with green hat, was given a chance to see how string cheese is produced.
The Ball family of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, poses with the Sargento mascot before getting a tour on how string cheese is produced at the plant, Tuesday, November 22, 2022, in St. Cloud, Wis. Through Make-A-Wish, Maxx Bell, 10, with green hat, was given a chance to see how string cheese is produced.

This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Sargento makes boy's Make-A-Wish come true at Wisconsin cheese plant