BOARDMAN Professional umpire speaks at Easter Seals dinner

A family tragedy created an awareness about life..
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Easter Seals' motto "Creating Solutions, Changing Lives" should be an inspiration to everyone, a Major League Baseball umpire told a gathering here Thursday.
"I used to look at disabled people, disabled children especially, and say, 'My God, I feel so bad for those parents. I feel so bad for those kids that they're not 'normal,'" said John Hirschbeck of Poland, who has been a professional umpire for 28 years.
"But I learned through what happened to me. And now I look and I say, 'God, those people are so lucky. They can hug their kids at night. They can love them. They can squeeze them.'
"So really, through the tragedy that we had, it gave me a new awareness about a huge part of life," he said. "Instead of feeling pity or sorrow, I felt, boy, how lucky those people are."
Lost his son in '93
Hirschbeck's son, John, died in 1993 at the age of 8 from adrenoleukodystrophy, a rare genetic disorder. Addressing an audience of 100 at Antone's Banquet Centre, Hirschbeck was the keynote speaker at the 52nd annual dinner of Easter Seals of Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties.
Hirschbeck told many anecdotes concerning baseball and other topics, including one about numerous TV satellite trucks from Cleveland and Pittsburgh surrounding his home in the aftermath of the 1996 incident in which Roberto Alomar, a Baltimore Orioles second baseman, spat upon him.
Alomar then compounded the offense by telling reporters he didn't regret his actions and that Hirschbeck had become "real bitter'' since his son's death, before apologizing three days after the spitting incident.
"What happens to a person isn't as important as what happens inside a person. And I decided then. I said, 'You know what? I'm going to get through this,'" Hirschbeck said of the Alomar incident.
Honored with award
During the banquet, Marty Martinek of Youngstown, a well-known local advocate for the rights of people with disabilities, who was unable to attend because of illness, was awarded the Frances Schwebel Solomon Spirit and Life Award. Martinek is a member of the Governor's Council on People with Disabilities.
Also, Jim and Pam Pierce of Girard received the Anthony Vivo Community Service Award for their role in the annual Easter Seals garage sale, which grew to the point where it grossed $100,000 last year and has a $120,000 goal this year.
Also introduced was Easter Seals' child ambassador, James Griffiths, 5, a son of Paul and Lisa Griffiths of Struthers. James attends Easter Seals' Building Blocks preschool program for children with special needs and disabilities.
Easter Seals, which serves about 5,000 clients a year, has centers in Youngstown, Boardman and Warren. It offers physical, occupational, speech and aquatic therapies, day-care programs for children and elderly adults, and in-home respite care.
milliken@vindy.com