A mother’s heart and a father’s example lead to an honor and an evening to savor

By John Shaughnessy

If anyone wants to know where Antoinette Maio-Burford gets her heart and her spirit, consider what her mom did on the day when Antoinette received the highest honor bestowed by the archdiocese’s Catholic Youth Organization (CYO).

Just hours before the Volunteer Awards Ceremony at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis on May 14, Antoinette took her 86-year-old mother Mary Ann Maio for the in-the-eye injections that Mary Ann gets every two weeks so she doesn’t go blind. It’s a process that usually leaves her worn out for the rest of the day, yet Mary Ann popped some Tylenol and headed to the cathedral with Antoinette, crying as she watched her daughter receive the St. John Bosco Medal.

Tears also streamed down Antoinette’s eyes in that moment because of her mom’s presence, and also because the medal brought her even closer to the other person who is the source of her heart and her spirit—her father Michael Maio, who died five years ago.

She remembered that her dad—who had received the St. John Bosco Medal in 1986—had encouraged her to return to coaching kickball years ago, knowing the difference she had made to the girls she coached. And now Antoinette was also receiving the honor that meant so much to her dad.

With the medal around her neck, she felt her dad was with her in spirit.

“It’s really nice to know I share something so special with my dad,” Antoinette says. “It’s really emotional for me. It was something that I admired my dad for winning. It was truly one of the things that was really important to me. To be held in such high esteem with someone you love is very humbling.”

Antoinette received the honor for her 38 years of coaching kickball and her 24 years of coaching cheerleading at St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower) Parish in Indianapolis.

The St. John Bosco award also recognized her efforts in helping to start a kickball tournament called“One Faith, One Family, One Sock” that draws teams from across the Indianapolis area. Proceeds from the tournament have supported Holy Family Shelter and bought smoke detectors for families in low-income areas.

The tournament is a reflection of her belief that “CYO is all about family,” and Antoinette was surrounded by all parts of her extended family during the awards ceremony.

Her husband Steven Burford was there. So was her sister Michelle Venezia. And several of the players on her fifth- and sixth-grade kickball team came to cheer for her and assistant coach Angie Mackall, who received the Msgr. Albert Busald Award from the CYO.

“That made me cry,” Antoinette says about the support of her players.

Another nice touch for her was that her longtime friend from childhood, Tom O’Gara, also received the St. John Bosco Medal that evening.

It all made for an evening to remember, to savor.

“I feel loved every day, and I’m thankful that God has allowed me to have good health to continue coaching and to touch as many lives as I feel I’ve touched,” she says. “The joy of coaching comes for me in making a difference to the child that maybe doesn’t have someone to confide in. It’s knowing that you’re able to profess your faith and help the children grow in the same faith that you have.

“To know I’m in a circle of people who truly care and profess their faith and share it with children is just awesome.” †

See more Catholic Youth Organization award winners