Meissner Gives Back

Posted on Wednesday, August 9th, 2006 at 3:56 pm

In the perfect sports world every teenage sensation or young superstar would be exactly like Kimmie Meissner. Without an attitude, arrogance or ego, Meissner is simply a well-adjusted, happy and amiable 16-year-old high school senior who also just happens to be one of the best female figure skaters in the world.

And in a perfect world, every parent of that phenom would be exactly like Meissner’s parents, Paul and Judy Meissner.

“The biggest thrill for me was when I took the ice in Turin at the Olympics and I knew my parents were there to see it,” Meissner said. “All the sacrifice, to know they were watching was really neat.”

It has been seven months since Meissner finished sixth at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy and nearly five since she landed not one but two triple-triple jumps to win the World Figure Skating Championship in Calgary, Canada. Since then she has been at a parade in her honor in Bel Air, finished her junior year at Fallston High, taken the SATs and joined forces with the Cool Kids Campaign, an organization dedicated to helping oncology patients and their families go through the enormous trauma of cancer treatment.

“It’s a good way to give back to the community,” Meissner said. “It’s good because the funds go directly to the families.”

The Cool Kids Campaign was created by the Belanger-Federico-Pitterich Foundation. Three years ago Rob Belanger, son of Orioles Hall of Fame shortstop Mark Belanger, and president and co-founder Chris Federico held a golf tournament to aid cancer research and help raise awareness of the disease. The tournament, originally in honor of the elder Belanger and Pitterich’s mother, has grown into a four-day celebrity event that will be played in early September at the Mountain Branch Golf Club in Harford County.

Meissner was named the ambassador for the Cool Kids Campaign in June and immediately made her impact felt, personally designing “TRIUMPH” bracelets to raise funds for kids battling cancer. More than 1,000 bracelets have been sold throughout the United States. “These families go through so much,” Meissner said. “If I can help out in any way, I will.”

Meissner is still blown away by the impact she can have. She has spent hours at both Johns Hopkins Hospital and University of Maryland Medical Center.

“It’s starting to sink in that I can use my skating and my name to help people,” she said. “That’s still all pretty weird to me, but if I can, why not use it?”

Last weekend at Ice World, her home rink in Abingdon, she invited dozens of kids and their families for an afternoon of skating and ice cream.

“This is a fun event,” Meissner said. “It’s not a fundraiser. I can let them share in the experience of skating. It’s a chance to get away from everything. For me, it’s a chance to get back to my roots. This is how I started.”

In the last three years Meissner won the 2004 U.S. Junior Championships, finished second in the 2004 World Junior Championships, third in the 2005 U.S. Championships, second in the 2006 National Championships, sixth in the Turin Olympics, and first in the 2006 World Championships last March.

Meissner remains as humble and modest as she was before the U.S. Championships back in January, when she stunned the skating world by finishing second behind Michele Kwan to earn her first Olympic berth. In this age of self-promoters and young, immature superstars, Meissner is still just Kimmie. No pro contract, no posse, no endorsement demands, no sense of entitlement.

And that’s a credit to Paul and Judy Meissner and Meissner’s three brothers, Nathan, Adam and Luke, all Calvert Hall graduates, who share in helping Meissner maintain that unique modesty and humility.

Paul Meissner is a podiatrist in Cockeysville. Judy Meissner is no longer a working mom but a driving one and, without question, a patient one. She usually makes the daily, one-hour trip with her daughter to the University of Delaware, where she has trained with coach Pam Gregory since she was nine years old.

Last weekend, the Meissners stood outside the rink at Ice World and proudly watched their daughter bring unending joy to a group of kids and their families. They talked with friends, welcomed guests, and let Kimmie enjoy the moment without any parental interference whatsoever.

“I’ve always believed in myself,” Meissner said. “But more importantly my parents believed in me. All along, my family’s supported me and I was able to keep a positive outlook on everything.”

That outlook was tested back in March when Kati Fisher, a young girl Meissner had met in 2004 while visiting the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, died of leukemia at age 16.

“That was a very tough time for all of us, especially Kimmie,” Judy Meissner said. “Kimmie and Kati were very close.”

Meissner remembered her inaugural visit to the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center well.

“The first time I went in I was a little nervous,” Meissner said. “I see Kati and some of the other kids and you realize they’re just like you.”

Because of her relationship with Fisher, Meissner got involved with the Cool Kids Campaign and is spending as much time as her schedule allows visiting kids at the hospitals and holding events like the one last weekend at Ice World.

“It makes me feel good when I see their smiles,” Meissner said. “A little thing can make a big difference.”

By Keith Mills / Baltimore Press Box