THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 17, 1995 TAG: 9511170814
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 01 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
Crystal Hurd had a house that needed repair. The members of Boy Scout Troop 902 wanted to contribute to a community project.
And Virginia Beach resident Bob Spadaccini helped get them together.
Spadaccini, a former City Council candidate, is active in the community in such areas as Scouting; Aragona Village Moose Lodge 1198, which sponsors Troop 902; and a local committee called Community Organization for Incentive Grants.
He knew the city had a program called Reside With Pride that might help the Scouts find a worthwhile community project.
``The city sets aside a certain amount of money for home repairs,'' he said. ``We called Sharon Prescott with the Department of Housing and she told us about Ms. Hurd's house.''
Hurd, 43, was a hard-working insurance agent, a single parent with a son in college when she was involved in two automobile accidents within four months in 1993.
While she was still recovering from the first accident, a car collided with her's on Virginia Beach Boulevard, aggravating her existing injuries and creating additional back and spinal problems.
``I applied for workmen's compensation - after all the years of working, paying taxes, trying to instill values in my son,'' she said. ``Going through the bureaucracy was one of the most humbling experiences I've ever had.
``My mortgage payments were behind,'' she said. She also was behind on her electricity payments.
In April 1995, with her Green Run area house badly in need of repair, she applied for assistance from Reside with Pride.
Spadaccini and company found out about her financial woes and everybody ended up gaining.
Soon, repairs were under way. Tradesmen from the lodge and members of the Scout troop, under the supervision of building contractor and lodge member Phillip Wade, made the necessary repairs to her house in three days.
The men took off the old roof and put a new one in its place. The Scouts painted the outside trim of the house and cleaned the yard. Reside with Pride supplied most of the materials needed to fix the house. Some items were donated by area businesses.
It's no big deal, said Frank Janes, a member of the lodge since 1990. ``We want to, or would like to, do one house each quarter.''
Janes' son, Mike, is the Scoutmaster for the 26 boys in Troop 902. The members of the lodge enjoyed working with the Scouts and want to do it again.
Janes said: ``The more people involved, the better. Moose lodges from all across the country gave $6 million to charity last year. And Virginia lead the country in charitable donations.''
``Live and learn,'' said Hurd. ``When I bought the house, no one told me an attic fan would keep the heat from causing the roof to buckle. Now, I have one, so the 20-year roof those nice people put on might last 20 years.''
Despite her troubles, Hurd remains upbeat and voices a strong faith. Her son is in graduate school at Iowa State University, she is on the mend after five surgeries and looks forward to being able to work again.
``The most important thing is this: God is good. I've always believed that, known that.''
Two of the Scouts, Chad Wacker, 14, and Jeremiah Dull, 16, said they would like to do even more community projects. They said they learned a lot from this experience and would like to do one on their own as their Eagle Scout community service project. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by GARY EDWARDS
Bob Spadaccini, in suit, meets with the members and leaders of Boy
Scout Troop 902 to plan their community project.
by CNB