Scouts make strides (and strokes) in community service

When he noticed that the American Legion Post 44 Hall in Malverne needed some touching up, Boy Scout Brereton Conway recruited a few hands to give it a fresh paint job.

On April 17, Conway, of Valley Stream, and 13 other helpers — his fellow scouts from Troop 109, some of his close friends from Chaminade High School and a few dads, including his own — kicked off a two-day mission to paint the inside of American Legion Post 44, located on Franklin Avenue in Malverne. His team painted the walls and moldings of its catering hall and stage, bar area, coatroom and vestibule.

Conway is spearheading this project for his required community service project to become an Eagle Scout. The 17-year-old is a junior at Chaminade High School and has been in the scouts since fifth grade, starting out as a wolf with Cub Scout Pack 109. In addition to this project, Conway said he still has to complete a couple more merit badges before he can become an Eagle, a rank earned by fewer than 5 percent of boys who enter the scouts.

“I didn’t want a small project,” Conway said of his venture to Eagle Scout. “Also, I have a lot of military in my family — my cousins, my aunts, my uncles — and I wanted to give back to the American Legion and its members.”

Conway added that he wanted to repay Post 44 members for annually sponsoring his troop’s members at American Legion Boys State, a summer youth program that sends high school students on an all-expense paid trip to upstate New York to learn about the functions of national, local and state governments.

Before starting his plans for the project last January, Conway said he decided to mount this venture while working at Post 44’s clambake last year and one of its members asked him to paint the Legion Hall.

Since launching the project, Conway raised a total of $1,300 in proceeds for two days’ worth of supplies and food, most of which were donated by Aboff’s Paint, Moore’s Funeral Home, Larry’s Pub, Home Depot and family members. He armed his men that first day with tarps, blue tape, white and black semigloss paint, rollers, roller covers, 2-inch and 3-inch paintbrushes, and ladders.

“I want [the Legion Hall] to kind of flourish… and get newer members in here,” said Conway, who’s considering attending a military academy after he graduates next year. “A lot of the veterans are older, so the younger veterans don’t join until they’re older, but I want to get support because [the Legion] really do[es] help veterans.”

Legion Post 44 Commander Joe Brunher and Past Commander Bob Guarneri agreed that Conway’s project is a fantastic way to support the Legion and fortify the strong bond their organization has with the Boy Scouts, whether by offering youth activities for its scouts or recognizing the completion of their scouting with certificates, medals or a monetary sum.

“I’m very proud of [Brereton], I’m extremely proud,” said Conway’s dad, Chris, who offered his son a few pointers on how to manage the project that day. “It’s nice to see all the years that my wife and I have been raising him and coming up through the ranks of the Boy Scouts to see him growing into a man.”

Chris Conway said he believes the project will serve as an invaluable lesson in teamwork and volunteerism for all involved.

“He’s got a lot of responsibility and it falls solely on his shoulders,” Conway said of his son. “It’s his job and he’s got to get it right. If he wants to be an Eagle Scout, he’s got to show that he’s got all the qualities that are required of an Eagle Scout, all of the qualities that he learned both as a Cub Scout and a Boy Scout.”