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Daughter's competing in Miss America pageant one of many accomplishments for Waynesburg family

Sunday, September 08, 2002

By Scott Robertson, Tri-State Sports and News Service

In many ways, the past year has been typical for the Marisa family of Waynesburg. There have been the births, deaths, graduations, promotions, achievements and disappointments that are part of the fabric of the lives of most American families in any given year.

It's also been typical for the Marisas in that there has been plenty of times they've appeared in the news.

That's not so unusual, given that Rudy Marisa, husband to Jackie and father of Kurt, Kent, Kameron, Kerry and Autumn, has won more than 500 games as men's basketball coach at Waynesburg College. The team plays its home games in Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse.

This year, however, the family has made more news away from basketball, starting with a too-close involvement in the tragedies of last Sept. 11 and perhaps ending with what literally would be a crowning achievement.

On a day when time seemed to stand still for most of America, the Marisas felt the horror hit home. Oldest son Kurt, 42, was working in the Pentagon and second son Kent, 40, was in the World Trade Center. Both survived the attacks, leaving the family to feel as if it were blessed.

While the frightening memories resonate, the family is looking ahead with optimism. Daughter Autumn, 22, was crowned Miss Pennsylvania July 13 and will be competing Sept. 21 in the Miss America pageant, attempting to become only the seventh woman from Pennsylvania, and the first since 1954, to win the crown since the competition began in 1927.

"Within the past year, we had twins [Kameron's wife delivered the babies May 31, 2001], we went through the terrorist attacks, Autumn graduated from Penn State on May 11, Kerry received his MBA [from New York University] on May 15, Kurt then told us his wife is pregnant, Kurt got a promotion to lieutenant colonel [of the Air Force} and Autumn became Miss Pennsylvania," Jackie Marisa said.

"Things like that don't happen to a family in a lifetime let alone in one year."

The juxtaposition of all those events has caused a great deal of reflection within the family. For Autumn, competing in the Miss America pageant was a lifelong goal. But after what happened with her brothers Sept. 11, she nearly stopped competing.

"I've always wanted to do this," she said. "When I was really little, my dance school went out to see the pageant and I told my mom, 'I can do this.' She didn't want to discourage me, but I know she had a lot of doubts. She told me it would be very hard, and she was right.

"But if you would have asked me after Sept. 11 if I would be here, I would have said no. I took a step back after that to evaluate everything that was important in my life. We were blessed to have my brothers be OK. But it made me question a lot of things. Why were we the ones who could be happy when so many other families were hurt so badly? Why were we the ones who were blessed? I really was giving a lot of consideration to not competing."

Autumn, who now is living with a host family in Easton, Northampton County, as part of her year-long responsibilities as Miss Pennsylvania, selected the Make-A-Wish Foundation as her platform for the competition. Make-A-Wish grants special wishes to seriously ill children. Autumn has been a volunteer for the organization for the past five years. Inspiration from the children, she said, helped her decide to stay in the competition.

"I started to spend a lot of time with my family [after Sept. 11] and I think it helped me realize what my purpose is with Make-A-Wish," she said. "It really gives these children a break from hours of doctors visits, therapies and treatments. I really see that as important and a chance to contribute something to the community.

"I think after Sept. 11, as a family, we all took time to enjoy each other more and to reflect on what we meant to each other. We feel very blessed, but we know Sept. 11 will be a difficult day. I will be reflecting on the events of the past year. It makes me really thankful for the opportunities I have now."

Rudy Marisa's recollections of the sequence of events Sept. 11 still blur in his mind. What he sees clearly now is a family that remained strong through tragedy and has a sharp vision for its future.

"I remember that morning going to a drive-through bank -- it must have been right at 9 a.m.," he said. "The teller asked me if I had heard that terrorists had hit the World Trade Center. I rushed to the college. I think I even used a downstairs phone -- I didn't even run all the way up to my office. I think I called Jackie first. Kurt [who was at the Pentagon] had gotten hold of us asking about Kent.

"Fifteen minutes later, we heard the Pentagon was hit. I tried to call Kurt back, but there was no answer. The phones were out. Now I was trying to piece together everything that had happened, and all the while we were fearful that we had lost them both."

About an hour and a half later, both sons checked in, safe and sound. Today, they are living their lives and remembering. Kent, managing director at Lehman Brothers on Wall Street, is on a six-month sabbatical. He has taken the entire family on a fishing trip to Costa Rica and now is hunting caribou and fishing with Kerry in Canada's Yukon territory. Kent, after his promotion to lieutenant colonel, was appointed an attache for the U.S. government in the small South American country of Suriname, where he is on a six-month assignment.

Kameron, who resides in Peters, works for Coca-Cola USA. Kerry, when he returns from the Canadian trip, will begin working in New York with American Express Corp. Autumn, of course, is preparing for the Miss America pageant, which will be telecast at 8 p.m. Sept. 21 on ABC.

Through all of these events, Rudy and Jackie Marisa have noted that while many things have changed for their family, many things have remained the same.

"I think you become more respectful of one another," Jackie said. "You appreciate more, maybe, what each other has been able to accomplish. We're very proud of all of our children. They have worked very hard.

"And I think the other thing is that they all admire and respect each other. I don't know if these things have brought them closer together -- we have always been a very close family. But I think that now, we appreciate family as a whole, and that we have been able to reach this point."

Rudy, because of his team's accomplishments in basketball, has seen his share of time in the spotlight. He knows the bright lights are continuing to shine on his family and he is thankful for it.

"We can't seem to get out of the news," he said with a laugh. "As a coach, I've been in the news more than enough. But when all this happens in a year's span, from two sons in danger to a daughter on national TV as Miss Pennsylvania -- you are just thankful to be alive, healthy and well. It's flattering to think we could have four sons who are so successful and a daughter who is in a pageant like this. We really have been blessed."