If you have ever seen Disney’s movie "Lilo & Stitch," then you know that the word "Ohana" means "cousins." Being "cousins" is how St. Nicholas School has received a very special donation for their upcoming annual fund-raiser. Russ Ortiz, the newly signed free agent pitcher now with the Arizona Diamondbacks has donated several items to be auctioned off at this year’s event, the Annual Chili Supper Feb. 5.

The donation came to the school through Shena Stoddard, daughter of Greg and Patricia Stoddard of Kinsley, a student in the seventh grade at St. Nicholas. She wrote to Russ Ortiz, her cousin, late last year via Bonnie Scoggins. Shena’s grandmother, Mary O’Brien from Lewis, Kansas, and Bonnie Scoggins are first cousins. Scoggins’ daughter Stacy is married to Russ Ortiz.

In Shena’s letter to Russ Ortiz, she asked him to autograph two very special baseball cards that she was given at the Annual Dickson Family Reunion held in Stafford. Mr. Ortiz had the baseball cards printed shortly after he was traded to the Atlanta Braves. What makes these cards special are the "stats" on the back of the cards, on which Ortiz wrote a personal testimony, including, in part: "My favorite Bible verse is Philippians 4:13, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ I have the confidence that only God gives to handle the ups and downs of life and baseball."

Since Mr. Ortiz has been kind enough to donate several items to the auction besides the cards, Shena has decided to donate one of the "special" cards to the auction as well.

Shena told Mr. Ortiz in her letter about the upcoming school fund-raiser and asked him if he would donate a baseball item to the auction. Several weeks later a package arrived from Bonnie Scoggins. Inside the package were the two special baseball cards Shena had sent to Mr. Ortiz, now autographed, along with two other autographed baseball cards, two framed autographed pictures, two autographed stackable "Russ Ortiz" dolls, and an autographed baseball.

Russ Ortiz pitched five seasons for the San Francisco Giants before spending the last two years with the Atlanta Braves. In his six full seasons in the majors dating back to 1999, Ortiz has posted a 3.93 ERA while averaging more than 16 victories and 150 strikeouts in nearly 209 innings per year. Russ joins Bartolo Colon and Greg Maddux as the only big league pitchers to accumulate at least 14 wins in each of the past six seasons. Ortiz is the only big league pitcher with at least 14 wins in each of the last six seasons. He has not missed a start in his big league career. Since the 2000 All-Star Break, he is 77-39 with a 3.65 ERA. His 77 wins over that span are the most in the National League during that period. Russ’s best overall year was the 2003 campaign with Atlanta when he went 21-7 with a 3.81 ERA in 34 starts. His victory total not only paced the National League but also established a new career-best, three more than he accumulated in 1999.