West Hempstead brothers soar like Eagles

They returned to the scene of what was a great deed for both — just a year apart.

Joseph Canzoneri III and brother Michael joined family and friends Aug. 6 at the West Hempstead American Legion Cathedral Post 1087 to not only admire some of their renovation work, but also celebrate what the two earned in return for all that hard work: their Eagle Scout badges.

“Overall, I would say the hardest part is the dedication that’s required to do everything,” Michael said after the ceremony. “It’s a big commitment over the years. I started at 12 years old, if I remember correctly. You really have to dedicate a long time.”

It indeed has been more than a decade since Joseph first joined Cub Scouts, followed by Michael a couple of years later. Joseph started Boy Scouts around the time he turned 10, and once again, Michael wasn’t far behind. All the while, the boys’ father — Joseph Canzoneri II — kept a watchful eye over them, taking up leadership roles in both Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts.

He even became the scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 240 in 2015 — a position he would cherish over the following seven years.

Choosing the Cathedral Post on Woodlawn Road was no accident either. The troop’s courts of honor — a quarterly ceremony celebrating Scouts moving up in ranks — made their home at the Cathedral Post after Covid-19 had shut everything down.

First opened in 1933, the building was showing its age. The Canzoneris decided to step up and make a difference.

Joseph focused on the building’s ceiling and areas near its entryway.

“I replaced all the ceiling tiles in the hall, repainted the suspended ceiling grid that supported them, repainted the little area they have by the front, and replaced all the lenses for the fluorescent lighting,” he explained.

While many might think of just this final project as what’s needed to become an Eagle Scout, Joseph — now 20 — is the first to admit it’s much, much more than that — rising from tenderfoot through all the different ranks.

“Each had different requirements,” he said. Each “had me take up leadership position and dedicate service hours. And all the required merit badges are of varying levels of difficulty, and in different subject areas.”

Michael concentrated on the Cathedral Post’s kitchen and office areas.

“It was, I would say, probably one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life,” the 18-year-old said. “It took a lot of effort. I pretty much redid the whole kitchen and office. I was moving things and cleaning them. I was changing the walls and ceilings. The carpet had to be redone. It was extremely physically and mentally demanding.”

The older Joseph joined his wife Mary at the ceremony, affixing Eagle Scout pins to their sons’ lapels. Dan Leno, a Scout assistant who served as master of ceremonies over the proceedings, always enjoys how earning the top rank in Scouting can bring so many together.

“The whole troop came out, and there were a lot of people from the troop’s history that came back,” he said.

“Troop leaders that are no longer participating came back to honor the success of the Canzoneri boys. It was solemn, but also fun at the same time.”

For the presentation of colors, each of the brothers was joined by guards of honor — friends they have made in their Scouting career. Michael chose fellow Scouts Sebastian Galafaro and Alex Sigelson to join him, while Joseph selected James Kinney and his cousin, Thomas Callahan.

The Canzoneri brothers’ careers of service do not end here. Joseph is currently studying at Molloy University in the hope of becoming a history and special education teacher. Michael intends to become an electrician through the Nassau BOCES Adult Career and Technical Education program.