Exit
Segedi said. “How cool is that?”
The premise of Victory Day was
born when Segedi, who teaches
language arts and science at Arthurs Middle School, in addition
to coaching, was trying to formulate a community service project
for his football players. He wanted
the football program to give back
to the community and disadvantaged children, as well as help his
players build character. Now, even
the rival teams in the county come
out to participate in Victory Day.
“What are we doing as coaches?”
he asks. “Are we worrying about
wins and losses all the time? We
are here to make these kids better
human beings.”
Segedi recalls the initial reaction
from the football team when he told
them of his Victory Day plan.
“‘You want us to do what on
a Saturday in the course of the
season?’ they said to me. I said,
‘What’s the priority here?’ They
quickly saw what I was trying to get
across and said, ‘Hey, let’s try it.’”
AN EYE-OPENING STRUGGLE
It wasn’t just his duty as a coach
and educator that motivated Segedi
to give back to his community. His
battle with cancer in 2005 changed
his perspective on life. The mar-
GREATEST PERSON
OF THE WEEK
HUFFINGTON
8.19.12
ried father of two fought through
bio duct cancer, which was brought
on by a previous lifelong illness.
To combat the lifelong illness, he
needed a liver transplant, but to
make things more complicated, he
couldn’t go ahead with the transplant until the cancer was at bay.
There’s a reason I got
cancer twice. I try to believe
God gives us an amount
that we can handle in life.”
Meanwhile, he was told he would
likely wait about two years for
a new liver, and doctors said he
would die waiting. To save his life,
Segedi’s sister, Rhonda, donated 70
percent of her own liver.
“I promised myself as I went
through all of this I was going to
make a positive impact on other
people’s lives,” he said.
As he was planning the first Victory Day, Segedi was thrown into
a second round with cancer. This
time, it was post-transplant lymphoma disorder, caused by the antirejection medication he was taking
for his liver transplant.
“There’s a reason I got cancer
twice,” says Segedi. “And I try to