Boy Scout completes church project on way to attaining Eagle status
An area Boy Scout said he would not have been able to finish his Eagle Scout project if it had not been for many Scout leaders and assistant leaders through the years.
“I think they all helped me in some way or another,” said Mario Leone of Rostraver Township, a member of Boy Scout Troop 1543 based at St. Sebastian Catholic Church in Belle Vernon.
Leone, 18, said the Boy Scouts has meant different things to him through the years.
“When I was little, it was something to do. As I started getting more into Boy Scouts and was a senior patrol leader for a couple years, there were lessons in leadership and managing people and different morals. I really think that everything the Scout program is meant to teach I got a little of everything,” he said.
He also noted that Scouting helped reinforce the morals his parents had taught him.
When it was time to select an Eagle Scout project last year and complete the final requirements for the honor, Leone learned that the congregation of Pricedale Union Church in Belle Vernon was in need of more storage space. With the leadership skills he had gained in Scouting, he set out to do the work.
In June 2010, Leone met with the pastor of the church to discuss what he could do to help. He proceeded to create the basic floor plan for a 25-by-7-foot storage room in the social hall of the building.
“My dad has construction experience, and he helped me,” he said.
Leone also was helped by other family members and some friends.
Soon, Leone found he was running short of time as his Eagle Scout rank requirements had to be completed by his upcoming 18th birthday.
“October was a whirlwind of activity. It was the construction month,” he said.
Leone prepared the lumber at his house to make construction easier at the church. The walls of the storage closet were standing in two hours. With a total of 170 man hours, the four-week construction project was complete by the end of the month.
With the final accomplishment achieved and an Eagle Scout Award to show for it, Leone said it is difficult to narrow it down to who inspired him the most in Scouting. Many Scout leaders and assistant leaders had come into his life throughout his years in the program.
“Without all of them, I wouldn’t have been able to finish,” he said.
A son of Joe and Marian Leone of Rostraver Township, Leone is a 2011 graduate of Belle Vernon High School. He is attending Pennsylvania State University, majoring in computer engineering.