Parma boy celebrates birthday with first pitch honors

th birthday any

better than this. Nicholas, who will be eight next Tuesday, will celebrate a few days early by

throwing out the first pitch at Parma Night on Thursday at Progressive Field.

Nicholas won first-pitch honors after Parma Mayor Tim DeGeeter gave up the opportunity that is

usually reserved for the mayor. DeGeeter wanted a child to have the once-in-a-lifetime

opportunity, so he created a drawing for those Parma residents who bought advance tickets for

Parma Night from the city’s Parks & Recreation Department. The winner had to be 17-or-under

to throw out the first pitch.

Nicholas, who lives with his parents Dan Tomeo and Stephanie Rusnak, on Krueger Ave. in

Parma, has a brother and three sisters. He participates in Parma’s UH-2 (Umpire Pitch) league

and plays for Becker's Donuts.

“We try to make a couple of Indians games every year, and I heard about the drawing for the first

pitch and thought what a wonderful opportunity it would be (if Nicholas won)” Stephanie said.

“We were thinking about taking him to the game for his birthday, but we didn’t have any idea it

would be this exciting!”

Reportedly, Nicholas is “ecstatic” and is busy preparing for his big-league debut.

“This is exactly what we had in mind when we turned the first pitch into a contest,” said Mayor

DeGeeter. “A Parma kid gets to be very excited about an opportunity very few people ever have.

It’s a very nice bonus that it comes near Nicholas’s birthday. We at the City all wish him a happy

birthday.”

Ticket sales for the 2012 Cleveland Indians City of Parma Community Night doubled the

number that was sold for the event last year. The drawing for the first-pitch contest took place in

the Recreation Department office on Monday July 23, 2012.

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