125801879_web1_Teri-Ooms

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WILKES-BARRE &mdash; When the message came to me the other day, I was thrilled.
				Fred DeSanto, president of Victory Sports, called to tell me that one of our participants, Joey Hoffman, wanted to talk to me.
				So I gave Joey a call, but he didn&rsquo;t answer. But I will keep trying because I really want to talk to Joey too.
				Joey Hoffman is my friend, and we used to pal around a lot &mdash; beyond the weekly Victory baseball games, dances and other events. Joey is funny, sincere and genuine.
				And he loves to sing.
				One year, on opening day, we played the national anthem before the game, as we always have done since the inception of Victory Sports and, before that, for Challenger Little League, dating back to 1991.
				In this particular year, on our second week of play, our music coordinator was unable to attend, hence no National Anthem.
				Joey Hoffman called us out on that.
				&ldquo;Hey buddy,&rdquo; Joey said to me. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t play the national anthem today. Why not?&rdquo;
				After I explained what had happened, Joey then said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll sing it.&rdquo;
				Now, I had heard that Joey liked to sing, but mostly at home, away from crowds. So I asked his parents if it would be OK for Joey, at the time a 30-plus-year-old autistic man, to sing the National Anthem. His parents gave me an incredulous look and his dad said, &ldquo;Out Joey? Well, OK if he said he wants to sing it.&rdquo;
				I gave the microphone to Joey and he sang the National Anthem. Everybody stood and remained standing at the end to show Joey how much they appreciated his effort and his patriotism.
				Since then, Joey sings the National Anthem before every game, dance and event sponsored by Victory Sports. He has even sang it on stage at F.M. Kirby Center before a Luzerne Foundation event.
				Joey&rsquo;s peers usually join him in singing the National Anthem and also Happy Birthday for those celebrating. These moments really are music to my ears.
				And then there was the time Joey wanted to sing the National Anthem before a RailRiders game at PNC Field. Joey was magnificent and when he finished, the crowd gave him a standing ovation and several fans, including U.S. veterans and all the players for both teams, came out to shake Joey&rsquo;s hand.
				Remarkable.
				I believe on that night at PNC Field, Joey must have channeled the spirit of Florence Foster Jenkins, the woman who hailed from Wilkes-Barre, who loved to sing as well, but couldn&rsquo;t carry a note in a bucket. Joey made everybody proud that Saturday night.
				After 10 years of Victory Sports, a program for adults with mental and/or physical challenges, Joey Hoffman epitomizes the spirit of the program.
				I&rsquo;ve written about Victory before and, in the interest of full disclosure, I serve as vice president of the organization and announce at the baseball games. I&rsquo;m happy to be a part of an organization that does so much to improve the quality of life for these individuals.
				I miss being around Victory Sports and all the participants.
				I&rsquo;m going to keep calling Joey. I look forward to the conversation.
				Maybe he will sing a song, too.

Beyond the Byline: Keep singing Joey, keep singing