You have 0 items in your cart
“My years volunteering with the special needs community has been very rewarding to me and for that work to qualify me for the Heights Hall of Fame is just icing on the cake.”
Randy Hibshman is now retired from a successful career in electronics, but his most rewarding work that continues today is his contribution and development of Challenger Baseball in Broward County Florida. Hibsham met his wife Debbie while attending Miami University. They were married after graduation in 1972 and moved to Rockland County, New York. In 1989 they moved with their daughter and son to the Ft. Lauderdale area. At the time, their son Danny, who was born with spina bifida, was 10 years old. After seeing an advertisement in the local paper for Challenger Baseball, a program for special needs children that was looking for players and coaches, Hibshman signed his son up and volunteered as a coach. After a couple of years, he was asked to take charge of the program and has grown its outreach exponentially!
Challenger Baseball is a division of Little League International and is an adaptive baseball program open to all children and young adults with special needs. Challenger allows any child over 5 years of age to participate in a team sport with their peers, in uniforms, regardless of their needs. Volunteer buddies are provided when needed. Everyone bats each inning, no player is out, there is no score kept and everyone wins every game! Private donations provide players with uniforms, equipment, pictures, trophies, opening day and season ending parties – all at no cost to the families. For more than 30 years Hibshman has been in charge of the program, which is designed to teach sportsmanship, improve self-esteem, develop friendships and social skills. Under his leadership and tireless efforts the program, which now has events with the Florida Marlins, has reached countless families and changed the lives of so many.
Miami University – BS in Business
Pace University – MBA in Marketing
Happily Retired, leaving time for sports and spending time with the grandkids