FAIRFIELD, OH (July 19, 2024)—On first glance, Groh Lane looks rather mundane. On the side of the road, there’s not much to look at besides some baseball fields, water treatment plants, and crops...lots and lots of crops.
But where many see the mundane, others see opportunity; and when the whole community becomes involved, then something magical happens.
To get it started though, there has to be a leader—an dreamer whose vision can become reality through dedication and hard work. Enter Steve Smith.
Smith became involved with the Therapeutic Recreation for the Disabled (TRD) Adult League in 1994, when he moved to Cincinnati from Chicago. For Smith, he became involved because he wanted to help his family.
“My brother-in-law, who has Down syndrome, wanted to play in this adult softball program,” Smith said. “They wouldn’t let him because they only had 25 players, and they couldn’t grow because they didn’t have enough volunteers. My mother-in-law came to me and said, 'I know you’re new to the area, but you love Paul, and you love baseball. Would you be willing to volunteer to help so he can be on the team?' I said absolutely.”
While Paul was able to play in the league, there were still some obstacles in the way, both for him and others playing and volunteering in the league.
“At the time, we played at a field outside of Harbin Park here locally with another nonprofit group that allowed use of the fields on Friday nights,” Smith said. “But they were regular baseball fields with dirt infields, and in the summer days with not a lot of rain, it was dangerous for wheelchairs and dangerous for the volunteers, so we needed to come up with something.”
While everyone was affected by the less than ideal conditions, there was one player that affected Smith the most.
“One of the things that hit me hard is that we had a player, his name is Jamie, and his back had deteriorated to the point that he needed a wheelchair. And that was about the time they realized it wasn’t safe for him to be at those fields, and he had to quit the league,” Smith said. “And it really broke my heart that as an organization whose mission it is to provide support and activities for individuals with special needs and developmental disabilities. It really hurt me that we were not meeting our mission for these people that needed it most.”
For Smith, that meant it was time to look for new opportunities from old ideas. Smith said that when he started at TRD, they had come up with an idea for a baseball facility that can accommodate players in wheelchairs and those with other physical and mental disabilities. Smith knew that this idea was very similar to those of Joe and Kim Nuxhall to build a Miracle League facility in Fairfield.
The next, and hardest, step of the entire process, according to Smith, was raising funding to build the facility.
“It was really hard, to be honest with you,” Smith said. “At the time that we got started back in the 2000s, the economy was rough. People didn’t have a lot of extra income, organizations really weren’t donating. And I think there was a lot of doubt. Often it would be, 'we love what you’re doing here, it sounds great, but we just can’t support it right now.'”
The challenges for raising funding for this project kept persisting. Eventually, though, a breakthrough finally came when the Hatton Foundation and Walt Lunsford of 9258 Wealth Management gave a $500,000 matching grant to fund the construction of the fields.
But other breakthroughs came throughout the entire community, and it wasn’t always financial.
“Ultimately, what I think drove it is the people of our region came together in a way that I think the community needed it as much as we needed it,” Smith said. “And so many people came out of the woodwork to say, 'well, we really can’t donate money, but we do have materials that would go into it.'”
Smith added that the contributions from the community make the entire project more rewarding. Smith is still in awe of the power of inclusion that affected everyone who contributed to the project. For Smith, being able to help out with building the fields and facility makes everyone feel included and passionate about helping others and fulfilling the mission of the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields.
Which brings us back to Jamie, who decided to rejoin the league again after the Nuxhall Miracle Fields opened in 2012.
“One of the joys of my life is when we opened this place in 2012. Jamie came back. And he’s been in the league ever since,” Smith said. “And it’s great to have him back. And it was just this feeling like, yes, we built this for Jamie and so many others. And now we’re serving this mission.”
That was one of many miracles that happened since the Miracle Fields opened over a decade ago. For Smith, seeing those miracles up close and personal never gets old.
“I think there’s so many moments, you know, it’s the Miracle League because miracles happen. It’s magical, it’s truly a magical place,” Smith said. “You know, we call it The Joy Factory, and I can’t think of a better term for it, because that’s what it is. We make dreams happen. We make miracles happen.”
The “Joy Factory” will be open for business throughout the summer and fall, with the adult league ending on July 26 at 6:00 and 7:30 and the youth league fall season returning to action on Saturday mornings at 9:15 and 11:00 from August 31 - October 12.
About The Nuxhall Foundation: The Nuxhall Foundation is the legacy foundation for former Major League Baseball pitcher and longtime Cincinnati Reds broadcaster, the late Joe Nuxhall. The Nuxhall Foundation carries forward three important legacy projects. A central project of The Nuxhall Foundation is The Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields—an entirely accessible baseball and recreational facility where every player with every challenge gets every chance to play. Historically, nearly 300 athletes with physical and developmental disabilities aged 4 to 80 participate in programs at the Miracle League Fields. The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Scholarship (in conjunction with the Fairfield Community Foundation) provides nearly $30,000 per year in scholarship money to student athletes at all 14 Butler County high schools. Very soon, the Joe Nuxhall Memorial Scholarship will cross the million-dollar mark in scholarship money awarded. The Joe Nuxhall Character Education Fund pitches good character to young leaders throughout Greater Cincinnati by delivering and supporting programs that stress the importance of integrity, humility, respect, and kindness. In 2024, The Nuxhall Foundation will launch a $12 million capital campaign to construct The Hope Center, a year-round recreational facility for athletes with special needs that will help to create the world's most comprehensive athletic campus for individuals with disabilities.
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