VISTA Leadership Megastars — an initiative that the Chester County Council, Boy Scouts of America launched last year in conjunction with VISTA Today — is ready to celebrate its second class of honorees.

For years, the Chester County Council hosted its Distinguished Citizen Dinner in honor of a community leader who exemplifies the ideals of Scouting in his/her daily life and improves the quality of life in Chester County. In partnership with VISTA Today, the Council has expanded upon this tradition to create VISTA Leadership Megastars and recognize 12 Chester County leaders who are shaping the county’s future through their leadership as demonstrated by their character, service, vision, courage, passion, and humility.

Those who are selected to receive this honor embody the 12 Principles of the Scout Law — Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent — and therefore serve as an exemplary role model for young people.

After giving the public an opportunity to nominate individuals for VISTA Leadership Megastars, the selection committee is excited to announce the 12 winners! Nominees were evaluated based on their:

• leadership (public profile, reputation)
• business success (financial results, career milestones)
• community involvement (volunteer work, advocacy)
• influence (impact on their community, company, industry, or on Chester County’s overall quality of place)

Beginning Monday, Sept. 12, VISTA Today will publish the profiles of each VISTA Leadership Megastar. The program will culminate with an awards reception on Thursday, Oct. 20 hosted by the Chester County Council at its new Program, Activity, and Resource Campus (PARC) in Exton.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available. For more information, contact Lisa Antonucci at Lisa.Antonucci@scouting.org or 610-696-2900 x 112.

Last week, VISTA Today revealed 10 of the 12 members of the 2022 Class of VISTA Leadership Megastars. The following individuals round out this year’s group of honorees:

• Andrew Rongaus, Partner/Attorney, Siana Law
• Chris Fiorentino, President, West Chester University

Fiorentino, who oversees the largest of the 14 universities within the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, is also the recipient of the 2022 Distinguished Citizen Award. His roots at WCU are broad and deep; he began teaching at WCU in 1983, while working on his doctoral degree in economics. Having started as an assistant professor, he rose to become the dean of the College of Business and Public Affairs (now the College of Business and Public Management), then the vice president for External Operations, and ultimately WCU’s 15th president.

Known as a transformational leader who embraces challenges, Fiorentino has instilled at WCU a spirit of innovation and ownership that empowers faculty, staff, and students. His support has led to:

• new programming for first-generation college students
• the placement of student success coordinators in each of the university’s six colleges and two schools
• a mandatory First-Year Experience course for all first-year students to make self-discoveries and expand perspectives
• the development of co-curricular transcripts to go hand-in-hand with students’ academic transcripts
• the strengthening of diversity core course requirements for all students to graduate
• the creation of a pilot program to support Black male students in an effort to address the nation’s equity gap in colleges
• the founding of a Resource Pantry to assist students who have significant need
• the founding of a first-of-its-kind, on-campus convenience store to provide workplace training for students on the autism spectrum to practice/master social and professional skills

Fiorentino joins one of his predecessors, Madeleine Wing Adler, WCU’s first female president, as a recipient of the Chester County Council’s Distinguished Citizen Award. Past winners also include Joel Frank, Greg Bentley, James McErlane, Gary Smith, Ernie Heegard, and Charles Swope, among others.

Stay tuned until next month when VISTA Today publishes Rongaus’s profile, as well as the profiles of the other VISTA Leadership Megastars.

Chartered more than 100 years ago, the Chester County Council has a rich heritage of developing character and leadership skills in youth. It serves thousands of youth each year and partners with more than 100 community organizations to deliver quality Scouting programs.

Through these programs and activities — which allow youth to try new things, provide service to others, build self-confidence, and reinforce ethical standards — Scouts develop leadership and citizenship skills that influence their lives as adults.

Learn more about VISTA Leadership Megastars.