PEABODY — Steve Fine didn't ask to be a hero.
His wife, Gail, nominated him as one, and the Boston Celtics agreed. The NBA champions named Fine one of its "Heroes Among Us" this season for his work educating young people about the effects of skin cancer.
Fine — along with the rest of the "heroes" — was honored yesterday during a Statehouse ceremony held by the Celtics and the program sponsor, the Massachusetts State Lottery.
"I didn't expect anything to come of it," he said before heading to Boston. "I didn't especially encourage her to do it. She did it anyway, and surprise, surprise."
The Peabody resident created the Melanoma Education Foundation in 1999 after his 26-year-old son, Daniel, died from skin cancer. The foundation provides middle and high school health teachers with information about melanoma.
Fine said the program has been adopted in 700 schools throughout New England.
He continues to build the foundation's materials and recently developed two new videos. With the help of Emerson College graduate students, Fine has a 23-minute video for middle-schoolers called "Should Have, Could Have, Would Have" and a 16-minute video geared toward older students dubbed "My Melanoma Vlog." "Vlog" is short for video log.
The Celtics previously honored Fine at their Feb. 6 home game.
"Well, you know, it's great," he said of all the honors. "I didn't think that it would happen."
For more information about Fine's charity, visit www.skincheck.org.
