From the day Alexander Stamato joined the Cub Scouts at age 6, he thought it might be possible to become an Eagle Scout.
Now 12 years later, he achieved what only two percent of all Boy Scouts ever achieve, earning the highest ranking scouting can bestow.
A resident of Port Liberte, Stamato was honored by the Jersey City Council before its Feb. 25 meeting and recognized for the work he did in helping to organize a repair of a portion of Liberty State Park – damaged in 2012 by Hurricane Sandy.
In accepting the council resolution, Stamato credited his parents for giving him inspiration.
Although a resident of Jersey City, Stamato’s entire scouting career is tied to scouting organizations at Mount Carmel Church in Bayonne, where he first attended as a Cub Scout in Pack 25 and currently is a member of Boy Scout Troop 19.
“I wanted to join the scouts, but there weren’t a lot of troops in Jersey City,” he said. “I started there in the first grade as a tiger cub scout and then crossed over to boy scouts there.”
To earn the rank of Eagle Scout, a scout must be active in the troop, demonstrate that he lives by the principles of the Scout Oath and Law in his daily life, earn a total of more than 21 merit badges in specific areas, and demonstrate leadership by organizing a community service project.
Leader of the pack
Since one of the key elements for an Eagle Scout project is being able to organize and lead others, Stamato was faced with the challenge of getting other people involved.
On the road to becoming an Eagle Scout, Stamato also became a member of the elite scouting group called “Order of the Arrow,” which is composed of scouts who best exemplify the scout oath and law in their daily lives. “Arrowmen,” as they are sometimes called, are skilled in camping traditions and spirit, and often camp out year round – even in the harshest of weather. But they are also noted for their dedication to service, and are sometimes tapped to help train other scouts. Arrowmen are often seen as leaders of their troops.
“I saw the need and saw that this would be something that would last, something that other people would notice, and appreciate.” – Alexander Stamato
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“I ran a lot of programs,” he said.
Also on his scouting resume are senior patrol leader and staff member of the National Youth Leadership Training program, and the National Advance Youth Leadership Experience program.
So it was not a stretch for him to take leadership for his Eagle Scout project.
Since he lives near and often goes to Liberty State Park, he decided to look around there for something he might focus on. A friend worked there, and Stamato soon discovered that a portion of the walkway near the mouth of the harbor was still in disrepair after being shattered by rising water from Hurricane Sandy in late 2012.
“I saw the need and saw that this would be something that would last, something that other people would notice, and appreciate,” he said
He organized and supervised a group of boy scouts, friends, and adults to assist in reconstruction of the walk.
“We have people from New York and New Jersey,” he said. “It was really a team effort.”
So many people came out to help him with the project that they finished ahead of schedule
“We had 30 to 40 people,” Stamato said.
The project involved 160 hours of work. Their effort won the praise of park staff and officials.
So where does Stamato go after achieving the highest rank in the Boy Scouts?
“I’ve applied to the Naval Academy,” he said. “I don’t know yet if I’ll be accepted. But if not, I’ll go to Rutgers and go through the ROTC program.”
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.