Ottinger's 'Organ Game' a Slam Dunk
May 23, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Every time Justice Ottinger sees one of the neon green T-shirts he designed on a student in the hallways at Newaygo High, he remembers fondly the “Ball Is Life, Organs Are Too” basketball game he planned this winter as an intern in the school’s athletic office.
Much more frequently, the Lions’ senior gives thanks for the family friend who inspired the event by giving Ottinger a kidney last June.
Ottinger is a recipient of an MHSAA/Lake Trust Credit Union “Community Service Award” for his creation of the “Ball Is Life, Organs Are Too” event on Jan. 20 that raised more than $4,000 for Gift of Life Michigan and provided an opportunity for 13 people to register as organ donors.
As noted, the event started as an assignment from Newaygo athletic director Kristen Melvin to create and organize some sort of benefit game. It turned into an opportunity for Ottinger to not only spread the word about something that’s given him a better life, but also a chance to honor donor “Uncle” Tom Linsley for doing so.
“As soon as she said it, I said ‘organ game.’ There was nothing else. Organs mean so much,” Ottinger said. “There are a lot of people waiting for organs, and I don’t think people know the seriousness of this as much as they should. (I did it) just to get people to be aware of that, that organ transplants are a big deal, organ donation is a big deal, and I’m a believer everyone should be signed up to be organ donors.”
The Community Service Awards recognize contributions by Michigan’s high school student-athletes away from the field. Ottinger, a three-sport athlete, will user the $1,000 award as a scholarship toward his education at Cornerstone University, where he’ll begin studies toward his goal of becoming a doctor. Six honorees total are receiving awards this spring; Second Half is featuring one a day this week.
Just last weekend, Ottinger won Lower Peninsula Division 3 Regional championships in the 110 and 300-meter hurdles, advancing to next week’s MHSAA Track & Field Finals in both events. It was a performance that showed how much the kidney has affected him physically. His 15.43 time in the 110 race was a personal record and 1.4 seconds faster than his best all of last year. His 300 time of 41.38 was his second-fastest this spring and more than three seconds faster than his best in 2016. He’s undefeated in the 300 this season.
Compare that to a year ago, when Ottinger “was doing it, but not doing it very good. I was still putting forth my best effort, and stuff like that, but the closer I got to the transplant date, in basketball and track more I could tell. I’d fall asleep all the time,” he said.
“Once I had a transplant, it was the total opposite.”
Ottinger’s family knew he’s need a kidney transplant eventually since he was 2 years old. Although it was a slow process, his kidneys gradually lost their ability to function over the next 15 years; by last summer, they were down to functioning at only six perfect effectiveness.
He was set to begin dialysis last summer when a donor was found – Linsley, who Justice affectionately calls “Uncle,” his dad’s best friend from when they attended Newaygo a generation ago.
Ottinger returned to play soccer in the fall and basketball in the winter, and set up his event for the Lions’ home game against Grant. Local businesses sponsored the event, and players and coaches wore the neon green shirts Ottinger designed. So did plenty of other people.
With Justice on the court, his mother Julie Long took over running the fundraiser during the game. But she had to get her son’s OK during warm-ups to order an additional 300 shirts – the first batch had sold out.
Gift of Life also sent a representative to sign up new donors on the spot, and Ottinger said the monetary donation will be used to help people who have had transplants pay hospital bills and for other costs that come with receiving a new organ.
He’s hopeful Newaygo will put on the event again next season, and Ottinger would like to do something similar at Cornerstone, where he’s set to join the track & field team.
His desire to become a doctor is boosted by what he’s experienced medically. But it’s rooted in something he’s already begun to fulfill.
“I’ve been in the hospital a lot, so I’d say that’s partially (the motivation),” Ottinger said. “But partially, I always have this urge to help people, make life better for people, and that’s driven me to do it too.”
The Community Service Awards are sponsored by the Michigan High School Athletic Association and Lake Trust Credit Union to recognize student-athletes' efforts to improve the lives of others in their communities. In addition to the $1,000 award, the Lake Trust Foundation is awarding an additional $500 to each honoree, to be donated to a non-profit, 501 (c)(3) organization of the awardee’s choice.
PHOTOS: (Top) Justice Ottinger (center of photo) and some of his many Newaygo supporters hold up #JustDonate hearts while wearing T-shirts he designed for his “Ball Is Life, Organs Are Too” event. (Middle) Ottinger presents a check to Gift of Life Michigan. (Photos courtesy of Justice Ottinger.)
2017 Community Service Awards
Sunday: Colon "Yard Squad" - Read
Monday: Bailey Brown, Brighton - Read
NFHS Introduces Updated Logo
July 17, 2019
Special from NFHS
As the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) heads into the next 100 years of leading high school sports and other activity programs nationwide, it will be doing so with a new logo.
The new logo was unveiled to the membership earlier this month at the close of the NFHS Centennial Celebration. The NFHS and its 51-member state high school associations celebrated the organization’s accomplishments at the 100th Annual Meeting at the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis.
The organization will continue to be branded as the NFHS in the new logo, and the N and F are connected as has been the case since 1979. However, the entire acronym is together on one line as opposed to the previous logo with the NF and HS on separate lines. While red and blue will continue to be the predominant colors, the new logo mixes white with red and blue to suggest a flag waving in the wind. The direction of the flag is pointing upward to symbolize forward-thinking and advancement.
The new design maintains a resemblance to the shield that has been a part of the NFHS logo since 1997. However, the logo is flared at the top, and the bottom of the logo does not have definitive borders, which suggests the organization has moved past its first 100 years and is expanding its reach as the national leadership organization for high school sports and performing arts programs in the United States.
While the organization’s logo from 1952 had four stars to signify the four charter members of the NFHS, the four stripes within the new logo represent the four homes of the organization during the first 100 years.
“We wanted to retain NFHS as the central component of the new logo because the organization’s national presence has continued to spiral upward in the 22 years since the NFHS acronym was adopted,” said Dr. Karissa Niehoff, NFHS executive director. “However, as we celebrated our first 100 years, we felt it was important to establish a new look that would signify our ever-increasing role as the national leader in high school sports and performing arts programs.”
Counting the Centennial logo that was used during the 2018-19 school year, the new logo will be 10th used by the organization since the first one was adopted in the 1930s. The new logo was created by Section 127, an Indianapolis-based design company.
The NFHS was started in 1920 and had offices in Chicago until 1971, when it moved to Elgin, Illinois. The organization moved to Kansas City, Missouri, in 1979, and then in 2000 to Indianapolis, where it remains today.
The Michigan High School Athletic Association is a member of the NFHS, and Michigan is one of the four founding states of the national association.