By Joe Koch, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
In baseball, a save is prized. The word holds even more meaning when former minor-league pitcher Dennis Bair talks about the work he's doing with his BairFind Foundation.
Now in its 10th year, the BairFind Foundation uses a unique method to call attention to the epidemic of missing children in the United States. The 36-year-old Munhall resident has gained the assistance of professional baseball teams, asking the organizations to sponsor poster giveaways of team photos with a missing child's photo included in a corner.
Mr. Bair, who advanced to the Class AA level as a pitcher in the Chicago Cubs organization, began his program in 2001 while a member of the Canton Crocodiles of the Frontier League. Initially, he was working on his own, but received a boost this year when BairFind was awarded nonprofit status by the Internal Revenue Service, qualifying as a 501(c)(3) organization. He now has a small staff working with him. Jonathan Wayne, a lifetime friend of Mr. Bair, has designed the organization's website www.bairfind.org. Two Daytona Beach, Fla., men, Nate Fincher and Jay Triplett, both of whom teach at Atlantic High School in Port Orange, Fla., design the posters. Mr. Bair coached baseball with Mr. Fincher at Atlantic High School.