Compassion fuels large Valley car show

Boardman Park event raises funds for boy with heart condition

BOARDMAN -- Joe Simon has more than 2,000 reasons to be grateful to a large group of strangers -- and most of the reasons resemble a dollar bill.

"It's amazing to have people you don't really know help you out in a time of need. … This restores your faith in humanity," Simon, of Kent, said.

Many of those with whom he's unacquainted are car enthusiasts who were happy to help raise money for his son, Sebastian J. Simon, 6 months, who was born with a condition called aortic atresia, a severe heart defect in which a baby is born with a missing or closed aortic valve, a small left side of the heart and difficulty sending blood to the body.

"It is one of the most complex heart surgeries in the world," Simon said.

Simon expressed thanks to those who stepped up on behalf of his infant son, who was the recipient of funds raised in the 47th annual Cars in the Park car show Sunday morning and afternoon in Boardman Park.

Hosting the five-hour fundraiser was the Mahoning Valley Olde Car Club, which, since its founding in 1978, remains committed to enriching the lives of children with life-threatening illnesses via community support and fundraising.

Sunday's gathering was expected to generate more than $2,700 for Sebastian and his family, Amy Suszynski, the Olde Car Club's president, noted.

Roughly the same amount was raised in last year's show to help Aadalynn Jae Bailey, who was born prematurely and significantly underweight, and who needed to be resuscitated immediately after her birth.

Simon's gratitude, however, extends far beyond the confines of the parking lot on which Sunday's car show took place. He also expressed thanks and praise to the staff at Cincinnati Children's Hospital as well as Akron Children's Hospital in Akron, where Sebastian is scheduled to have his second surgery Aug. 14.

"I can't say anything nicer about them," Simon said, referring to ACH. "They are incredible people."

During the family's three weeks in Cincinnati, Sebastian underwent a complicated Norwood open-heart procedure in which the aorta is reconstructed and a shunt is created to direct blood flow to the lungs. The surgeon performing the operation builds a new and larger aorta with a patch, then connects it to the main pulmonary artery and the heart's single functioning ventricle. The shunt is placed in a manner to route a controlled quantity of blood from the heart to the lungs for oxygenation.

The Norwood procedure was performed on Sebastian when he was 6 days old, his father recalled.

An estimated 28 classic and vintage cars were at the show, which was fewer than expected mainly because of the threat of severe weather, Suszynski noted. Mahoning and Trumbull counties were under a flood watch until midnight Monday.

Nevertheless, the dire forecast kept neither John Morelli of Austintown nor his 1970 Ford Torino GT home.

"It sat in a junkyard in Ontario, California. I bought it at the junkyard in 1976," Morelli said, adding that the vehicle was in poor condition with seven bullet holes in its side and a damaged transmission.

Morelli remembered having paid $1,650 for the four-seat car and about $600 to have it shipped 2,400 miles from California. In 2001, he got to work on giving the vehicle a second shot at life by redoing the interior, adding a lime-green base coating and installing a new engine and transmission.

On Oct. 24, 2001, the Ford Torino, which has been painted a candy brandywine, was ready to be released from his garage, Morelli said, adding that he also had the vehicle professionally detailed.

"I sold two cars and bought this. I got it out of Indiana, brought it home and tore it apart," Rob Woolf of Boardman said about his 1930 Ford Coupe, which sports a brandywine paint color.

One of the vehicles he sold about three years ago was a 1967 race car to buy the two-door 1930 coupe model, which includes a 355-cubic-inch Chevrolet engine and a 9-inch Ford rear end.

Woolf added that his vintage coupe's optimal speed is 30 to 35 mph, and that he often takes it to the Cruise Night shows each Tuesday evening throughout the summer at the Southern Park Mall's DeBartolo Commons.

The Mahoning Valley Olde Car Club has donated more than $270,000 to families with children who have a catastrophic medical condition, as well as about $58,000 to Hospice of the Valley, Suszynski noted.

Sunday's car show also featured eight vendors that sold fruits and vegetables, jewelry, 3-D imaging products and other merchandise, along with a disc jockey who played oldies tunes. Plaques were distributed to 16 winners, she added.

Meanwhile, Sebastian's health is continuing to improve, Simon said, adding that the first surgery was done in a "textbook" manner.