Airman sings at opener
PITTSBURGH — Vanessa Bartoe had done plenty of public singing before.
But not like this.
The 2011 Union High School graduate and Sigel resident has performed the national anthem at Golden Knight football and basketball games, and at various Bradys Bend American Legion Post 488 events.
“I did chorus in high school and sang in our musicals,” she said.
Those performances were in front of a few hundred people, at best. Monday afternoon at PNC Park, Bartoe sang “God Bless America” in front of thousands.
Now 21 and a senior airman in the U.S. Air Force, based in Pittsburgh, Bartoe was selected to take part in the Pittsburgh Pirates Opening Day pregame festivities.
“Our master sergeant chose me to represent our base after the Pirates contacted us,” Bartoe said. “When they first told me, I thought it was a joke.
“Our staff sergeant, Jose Gonzalez, called and told me the Pirates wanted me to sing at the home opener. I said, 'Yeah, OK, Jose ... get back to work.' I didn't believe him.
“Now that I'm here, I'm excited more than nervous,” Bartoe said.
Her mother, Michelle Bartoe, had the nervousness covered.
“I'm plenty nervous enough for everybody,” she said.
Bartoe sang “God Bless America” in front of 39,933, the largest regular season crowd in PNC Park history. The population of Rimersburg, where she grew up, is about 1,000.
Her father, Vincent Bartoe, mother, sisters Veronica and Victoria, and boyfriend Matt Morris joined her on the field for the pregame ceremonies.
“I'm absolutely thrilled about this ... so proud,” Vincent Bartoe, a member of the Army Reserves from 1985 to 1992, said. “This whole thing is hard to believe.“All young kids should have to join the military first. It teaches them respect, dignity, honor and courage.”Vanessa Bartoe said working at the Bradys Bend American Legion made her want to join the military.“I started working as a waitress there when I was 14,” she said. “Just hearing all of their stories over the years, about how proud they were and describing what it felt like to serve their country made me want to do it.“I was inspired by them. I was never sure what I wanted to do when I got out of high school. They gave me direction.”Bartoe is in her fourth year with the Air Force.“It's opened up so many doors for her, with education and her singing,” her mother said.Bartoe laughed when looking back on her high school days.“It was so much fun cheerleading at our football games, even though we always lost,” she said. “The year after I graduated, we made the playoffs. That figures.”She was one of those “do everything” kids in high school. A member of the National Honor Society, Bartoe played the bass drum in the marching band along with her chorus singing and school musical and play performances.“I doubt I'll ever beat this,” she said. “I'm representing my base, my branch of the service. And I'm a big baseball fan. This is perfect.”Singing at a Pirates game is something Bartoe had always wanted to do.“Scratch one off the bucket list,” her mother said. “And to do it on Opening Day? It's a thrill of a lifetime.”
