John Vlad came to Hiram in 1952 and began a legacy of excellence that has gone far beyond his years as an outstanding student-athlete for the Terriers, and carried on to what has become a 60-year career of leadership and devoted service to his community.
John was a three-year letterman and two-year captain of the Men’s Basketball Team, which before Price Gym was built in 1957, played their games in the gymnasium located on the lower level of Bates Hall, where the Service Center and other offices are housed today. But when it came to sports, his first love was really baseball, which was a bit of a problem given that Hiram had not fielded a baseball team since 1933. Undeterred, John successfully led the effort in petitioning the administration to reinstate the sport, and then lettered and captained the team during the first three seasons of their return to the baseball diamond.
On campus, he also was president of his fraternity, served on student council and the yearbook staff, and sang in the men’s choral group.
Four years after his graduation from Hiram, John received his medical degree from The Ohio State University. After completing his residency at both Trumbull Memorial Hospital and Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, he served as a Captain in the United States Army from 1963-1965, and was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. He then returned to his hometown of Warren, Ohio, and opened Vlad Pediatrics, which has provided outstanding medical care for the children of Trumbull County for over fifty years.
John has been honored many times for his service to the Warren community, including recognition for his yearly sponsoring of a Relay-for-Life team that to date, has raised over $300,000 for the American Cancer Society. He is a member of the Warren Sports Hall of Fame, the Warren High Schools Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame, and has received both the Mahoning Valley Distinguished Physician of the Year Award and the Jaycees “Man of the Year” Award for his community service. He is also well known throughout the area as the leader of the “Big Band Sound” of his musical group, the Top Notes.
