During my childhood in Detroit’s Corktown area in the 60’s, the name of Victor “Vic” Venegas was legendary among area youth. It seemed like a day would not pass without his name being mentioned by my classmates at Most Holy Trinity and by other youth on neighborhood streets. Venegas, who recently turned 83, was a well-known and respected sports coach and youth program leader who would go on to become the director of Casa Maria the drop-in youth center located on the corner of Labrosse and Trumbull. A few blocks from the old Tigers baseball stadium on Michigan and Trumbull, Casa Maria during that time was considered one of the cornerstone institutions in our neighborhood. The center was closely associated, as was Vic Venegas, to the great social activist Father Clement Kern, pastor of Most Holy Trinity.
Victor was born in Detroit in 1942. His father Moses Venegas was born in 1923 in the Mexicantown community of Bagley and 22nd. The elder Venegas was close friends with Frank “Panchito” Lozano who would go on to fame as an educator, musician and band leader. At age 18, Moses Venegas bought a gas and service station on the corner of 5th and Vernor. That business was displaced, as were many homes and other businesses, when construction started for I-75, the Fisher Freeway in 1966.
Vic attended Most Holy Trinity from 1947 to 1956 before being sent by Father Kern to Assumption High School in Windsor, Canada from 1956-60. There he excelled in baseball and football. He played center field on the baseball team and halfback on the football team. He had a promising future in sports when he was hit by a line drive in his right eye. That unfortunate accident would change the course of his connection to sports. In 1961 he was asked by Father Kern to take over the baseball and football teams at Holy Trinity. Within a few years the baseball team would go on to win the Catholic Youth Organization League championship in 1963. In 1968 he was appointed director of Casa Maria and served in that capacity till 1978. It is no exaggeration to say that in neighborhood lore Vic was the reason there was such a vibrant sports culture within that community that interestingly enough stood in the shadows of Tiger Stadium.
During this same period Father Kern took Vic under his wing introducing him to a who’s who of business, political and union leaders who were supporters of Father Kern’s mission to serve the poor and disenfranchised communities. Vic recounts he would often tag along with Father Kern when he spoke at union gatherings. This led to Vic developing life-long relationships with union leaders and a host of politicians.
Father Kern, upon noting Vic’s leadership potential, appointed him as the President of Most Holy Trinity’s Credit Union at the ripe age of 21. This was just the beginning. Vic became a prodigious fundraiser and advocate for Most Holy Trinity and Casa Maria’s community and sports activities. So, it is no wonder Vic was a founding and still active board member of the Father Kern Foundation, which to this day continues to support social activism and the provision of basic human needs that was started by the Father at Most Holy Trinity.
Vic credits Fr. Kern with exposing him to a wide range of experiences that, as he often says, “took this neighborhood boy beyond Corktown and Detroit’s boundaries”. Vic’s understanding of the global dimensions of servant leadership was enhanced when in 1963 he was sent to the Dominican Republic to do missionary work. There he was struck by the widespread poverty as he went throughout the countryside and witnessed first-hand the living conditions people faced. He accompanied Most Holy Trinity’s other pastor Fr. George Van Antwerp to Recife Brazil where again he noted the conditions faced by ordinary people in a Latin American country.
When I speak to Victor I am often mesmerized. He is a master story teller. As he recounts his journeys the names of notable athletes and other key sports personnel, as well as civic, political, business, media and union leaders roll off his tongue with ease. He counts among his friends and acquaintances individuals such as Chris Getz, Vice President of the Chicago White Sox, George Perles, Detroit Western High school alum, famed football player and former Michigan State University coach, former TV news anchor and reporter Joe Weaver, as well as businessman Art Getz. The list is extensive and too many to mention in this short article.
Even at age 83, Vic Venegas seems to never run out of energy. He continues to fundraise and network so as to ensure programming continues at Holy Trinity as well as other organizations and sports ventures. For example, the famed St Patrick’s Sharing of the Green, a historic and powerful fundraising mechanism was brought to unimaginable heights by Father Kern. The Sharing of the Green exists to this date. Vic joined their efforts in 1961. He regularly secures donations from Sacred Heart in Dearborn and St Regis in Birmingham. He maintains significant relationships with key players at the University of Detroit, Cranbrook, Bloomfield Hills’ Sacred Heart, Cristo Rey, Holy Redeemer, Focus Hope, Deo Gratius, and the Pope Francis Center. All quickly accept his referrals thus “opening doors” for those who may not be able to enter otherwise.
His love for Most Holy Trinity shines bright decades after his first stint as a coach. He founded the Fr Kern basketball tournament which includes some suburban teams. He celebrates the fact suburban kids get an intercultural experience with their participation in this tournament. He beams with pride when recounting the fundraising effort that led to the creation of the gym at Holy Trinity. As the Athletic Director he is responsible for raising funds and managing its recreational programs. He is especially proud that youth in these programs are taught citizenship and academics and that in order for them to participate they have to keep grades up.
Upon being asked what is his philosophy of life, he stated he feels he is on a mission to continue Fr. Kern’s legacy. His faith in God motivates him to give to others particularly those that might have less access to resources. He believes in the importance of discipline, the value of education and the need for us to become good citizens.
As we started to wind up our conversation he reflected that he is in relatively good health, thus still able to be of service to others. As l listened, the concept of being a “servant leader” came front and center. His life has been about that very concept! He has mentored so many and continues to do so. As we finished our conversation, he noted he was off to another commitment, another organizing effort! Well, didn’t I mention earlier it does not appear he will be slowing down anytime soon!
