A memorial dedication ceremony is scheduled at La Salle College High School on May 30, a project by Eagle Scout Ryan Gringeri to honor local veterans. Gringeri raised over $25,000 for the memorial.

The ceremony at the Wyndmoor school will include a cannon salute and presentations to honor veterans and active-duty service members, as Boy Scout units around America are working to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary with 250 hours of community service.

“Planning this [ceremony] and seeing everything come together, I’m very grateful for it because I didn’t think I’d finish it,” Gringeri said. “...I’m just looking forward to seeing everyone’s reactions to the memorial since most people haven’t seen it yet.”

Starting with a list of all the school’s alumni that served in the military, Gringeri reached out to over 200 of them so each could have an engraved brick with their name on it for the memorial’s walkway. Some 70 veterans, alumni, students, faculty and active-duty military are expected to attend the ceremony, set for 9:30 to 11 a.m., including veterans whose names are on the brick walkway.

Gringeri hopes this ceremony will create a permanent place of reflection for the community. After having close relationships with veterans in his life and a deep interest in the military, Gringeri had his heart set on honoring veterans through his project.

“I knew from the get-go I wanted to do some sort of veteran project,” Gringeri said. “Both of my grandparents were in the Korean War and even at a young age I enjoyed going to festivals, dressing up as a soldier for Halloween, and even going to recruitment centers.”

Gringeri has been involved with Boy Scouts for the last 10 years and knew that when he reached Eagle Scouts, he wanted to make an impact. One of his most important mentors throughout this process was one of his Scout leaders.

“I still always look back at all of his time because he was always there, and he was caring,” Gringeri said. “He made every project and every moment very special.”

He started thinking about potential locations for his project site when he was in eighth grade and eventually settled on La Salle when he became a student there. The project took about two and a half years for fundraising and planning. He accrued over 585 service hours and received plenty of community support.

Gringeri said the school encouraged him to fundraise himself but gave him access to its landscaping company to excavate the project site. He also received a grant from the Home Depot Foundation and other community partners.

Although he faced some setbacks due to inclement weather and some donors not following through, Gringeri said that made the project even more worthwhile.

“Over the years my dad and I came up with a list called SADs, ‘setbacks and disappointments,’ and we had a full list,” Gringeri told the Local. “But I’m kind of glad because everything that failed or set me back was a blessing in disguise, because it turned out better than it would have if I had just stuck with the setback.”

“It was a nice experience because if they gave me all the money, I wouldn’t have learned all the things I did.”