Scout's honor: Troop 336 teen launches Callahan memorial project

Nick Santiago is all about preparedness — a trait not commonly found among 17-year-old boys. Whether it’s for something as disastrous as, say, a hurricane or as harmless as a reporter unexpectedly dropping by his house in the middle of a summer afternoon, Santiago is ready.

That’s what six years as a Boy Scout has done for the teen: prepared him for life. Now Santiago, who lives in Malverne and is a member of Lynbrook Troop 336, is working toward the rank of Eagle Scout.

“It means for a Boy Scout that he’s the most prepared he could possibly be,” Santiago said when asked about the importance of achieving the Eagle rank. “He knows everything he’s ever going to need to know for any emergency situation, anything in life. All the merit badges that lead up to getting Eagle are all about, just, life and how you’re going to have to deal with it. Being an Eagle means you are an expert in knowing what to do.”

It seems fitting that for his Eagle Scout service project, Santiago chose to build a memorial for late Malverne Deputy Mayor James Callahan III, who served as commissioner of the Nassau County Office of Emergency Management. As it is to Santiago, preparedness was critically important to Callahan, who died at age 42 in May, six weeks after suffering a stroke. In the 12 years he served as a Malverne Village Board trustee, Callahan established an Emergency Management Committee and supervised the creation of a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan. He became county OEM commissioner in 2006.

Even after his death, Callahan continued to serve the village. According to Malverne Mayor Patricia McDonald, trailers he had stocked eight years ago with cots, blankets, pillows and other emergency equipment were used for the first time when Hurricane Irene blew through the region on Aug. 28.

Santiago, who has already earned 26 merit badges, said he got the idea for the memorial one day when he and his mother walked their dog, Lilo, around the neighborhood. They passed Westwood Park, where they saw a memorial fountain. “I remembered [that Callahan] recently passed away, so I figured I could probably do the same thing for him,” Santiago said. “He helped out a lot for years with the parks and everything, so I figured it would be good to give him a memorial.”

For Santiago, Callahan was a man to be admired. He had worn a number of hats in the village, where he lived with his wife and four children since 1995: He was the commissioner of the Malverne fire, police and Public Works departments and the board’s liaison to the Malverne Volunteer Ambulance Corps. But among the duties Callahan cherished most was authoring and sponsoring a variety of local laws to preserve the environment. He was responsible for revamping Harris Field, Westwood-Gaddis Park, Whelan Field and the Chester A. Reese Memorial Park, where Santiago’s memorial to him will stand.

Knowing Callahan’s dedicated to the village, Santiago thought it would be fitting to build a memorial that would serve as a living tribute. He will plant dozens of perennials around the gazebo at Reese Park. But before he can begin, Santiago has to generate some funding, which he plans to do with the help of his fellow Scouts by holding a garage sale at the Malverne Historical House on Sept. 17. If he raises more money than he needs for supplies and flowers, he said, he’ll consider McDonald’s suggestion to purchase a memorial bench and engrave it with Callahan’s name.

Whatever he ends up doing, it’s the thought that really counts for Callahan’s widow, Patricia Canzoneri-Callahan, who McDonald appointed on July 6 to the trustee seat her husband occupied. “I’m very touched,” Canzoneri-Callahan told the Herald. “This is a wonderful tribute to my husband, and it is wonderful that someone as young as this young man recognizes the contribution that my husband made to the community.”

Canzoneri-Callahan’s 12-year-old son, Thomas, is also a Boy Scout, and he is already on the road to becoming an Eagle Scout. “I have a great respect for scouting,” she said, adding of Santiago, “and I’m very happy that this young man chose something in honor of my husband.”