Celebrating transplant heroics; celebrating Emancipation Day
By ERNEST HOOPER
Published May 17, 2003
In a 28-year career as coach and athletic director at Jesuit, Bill Minahan earned the nickname "Wild Bill" for his legendary pregame pep talks.
Some nine years after his retirement, Bill is still a little wild. Spirited talk peppers his conversations, and he and his wife Martha have visited every Major League Baseball park in the nation. This summer, they will go to Cincinnati's new Great American Ball Park to sustain the feat.
But the story may have been far different had it not been for a kidney transplant he received 17 years ago. Since then, he has won four consecutive gold medals at the Transplant Games and been featured in Sports Illustrated's "Faces In the Crowd" section.
The donor not only gave Minahan an extension on life, he also gave birth to an organization devoted to raising awareness of organ donation. You see, while the donor's kidney went to Minahan, the heart went to Emily Ortiz, who would become one of the co-founders of the National Organization for Transplant Enlightenment.
"What a hero that man and his family is," Martha Minahan said Friday. "But we need some more."
The story indicates just how much of a difference one donor can make, because in 17 years N.O.T.E. has gone on to help more than 5,000 individuals in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
Still, more than 86,000 Americans are awaiting transplants, including 3,000 in this state.
Ortiz has passed, but her desire to spread the word about organ donations and help transplant patients continues through N.O.T.E. One of the high notes for the group comes Sunday with its inaugural Concert in the Park at University of Tampa's Plant Park.
The concert is free, and the Florida Orchestra will lead the effort with an outdoor performance. Local rock band Seaven also will perform, and between each musical set, transplant recipients and individuals awaiting transplants will share heartfelt stories of their experiences.
"That's a big thing because we'll turn a foreign concept into real flesh and blood," Martha Minahan said. "One woman who will speak has donated her husband's organs and her son's organs. She's a double hero."
It's just a guess, but I would say bet on "Wild Bill" giving the loudest testimony.
The origins of Juneteenth, an annual celebration of the emancipation of African-American slaves, is generally traced back to Gen. Gordon Granger's reading of Abraham Lincoln's proclamation in Galveston, Texas. Tampa Bay's 12th annual celebration will be June 19-22 in St. Petersburg.
But on Tuesday, there will be an Emancipation Day celebrated in Tampa. While the proclamation didn't reach Texas until June of 1865, it was read in Tallahassee on May 20, 1865.
Noted historian Cantor Brown will give the keynote speech at St. Paul AME Church at noon. Proclamation readers will include Mayor Pam Iorio, County Commissioner Thomas Scott and state representative Arthenia Joyner.
The program will be followed by a lunch in the church dining hall. Call 274-5690 for more information.
Kudos to the National Association of Letter Carriers, which managed to gather 963,990 pounds of food in Tampa last Saturday. The previous high was 832,000 pounds in 2001.
In a time when we have heard so much about charitable donations being down, it's nice to know the community is finding ways to give a little more.
I guess the Postal Service can deliver through all kinds of weather, even an economic storm.
