By MARY BARGDILL Staff Writer
ST. MARYS — Students from a local high school will embark on one of the largest community service projects in the surrounding communities.

Staff photo/Mary Bargdill: Memorial High School freshmen attended a presentation on Pay It Forward, a school wide endeavor to clean the city of St. Marys on April 30.

Memorial High School students in grades 9 through 12, along with local civic organizations, businesses and residents will participate in Pay It Forward, a one day endeavor to clean up the city of St. Marys. The event is scheduled for April 30.
St. Marys Area Chamber of Commerce President and Chair of the St. Marys Beautification Committee Kimberli Rompilla delivered PowerPoint presentations to the high school students in the Performing Arts Center Tuesday. Rompilla explained how Pay It Forward evolved and showed photos of previous community cleanup projects conducted in 2007 and 2008.
The idea for a community wide cleanup day grew during the past two years as members of the St. Marys Beautification Committee worked with various churches and youth on cleaning projects of collecting litter along the Miami and Erie Canal Towpath and throughout city parks.
“In 2008, we contacted Memorial High School with Sue Zink and she provided us with a lot of kids with National Honor Society and student council and Sue said wouldn’t it be great to get all the kids together on one day,” Rompilla said. “We hope it will be a huge success.”
Guidance Counselors Bill Cheslock and Deb Hinckley also helped organize the event.
“I think the response has been pretty positive,” Hinckley said. “They’re excited about it.”
Rompilla said civic organizations such as Kiwanis and the St. Marys Rotary have assisted with previous cleanup projects. Members of the local Ohio Army National Guard also have participated.
“We want to intertwine the younger generation, the middle generation and the older generation,” Rompilla said.
“There’s been so much support for Memorial High School from the community, it’s our opportunity to pay back the community.”
Cheslock addressed the students during the presentation, explaining what a day of volunteering would mean to the community.
“Not only to show our community, but to show the communities around us that we’ve got pride and we can take the lead,” Cheslock said.
The students were asked to wear comfortable older clothing for the cleanup day.
“None of this is designed forced labor, it’s designed to show you care,” Cheslock said. “Once you get into it, you’ll be surprised how much fun you will have.”
One of the students asked what the school’s plans were if it rained on April 30.
“If (it’s) sprinkling we’re going,” he said. “If it’s a torrential downpour, we won’t go.”
Cheslock said that for now, the school did not have definite plans to reschedule if the event was rained out.
Assistant Principal Dave Lewis told the students the success of Pay It Forward was largely dependent on them. Students who skip the community cleanup event will receive an unexcused absence.
“Your guys’ attitude is going to determine a lot about it,” Lewis said. “We want to have 100 percent attendance if we can. Everybody’s going, this is a regular school day.”
Pay It Forward will take place on Thursday — a school day. The students will attend school as normal, reporting to their first period class for attendance. Depending on the location of the project they have been assigned to, the students will either walk or be bussed to their site.
The scheduled work time is from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Students will work in various group sizes, from around five to 20, depending on the nature of the project they have been assigned.
The St. Marys Rotary purchased 720 lime green safety vests which the students will wear during the cleanup project.
Students will return to the football stadium at 1 p.m. for a free lunch provided by the student council. Motivational speaker Gary Broadbent will address the students following lunch. Afterwards, the students will be dismissed for the day.
Memorial High School Principal Mike Makley said the older students — seniors in particular — seem more appreciative of what Pay It Forward is all about.
“They see the benefit,” he said. “There’s certainly no shortage of projects. If there’s anything we can do to beautify the community, that a good thing.”
Makley said parents of the high school students will receive a release form that must be signed for their child to participate in Pay It Forward.
“As far as parents, we haven’t had any questions so far,” he said. “It’s no different from a field trip.”     
Project organizers have contacted Golden Living Center Valley, St. Marys Otterbein, St. Marys LivingCenter and the Auglaize County Council on Aging for project ideas. Other organizations that have been contacted for potential projects include the local Ohio Department of Natural Resources office, Grand Lake St. Marys State Park and Joint Township District Memorial Hospital.
Rompilla said a letter was sent out to all chamber members, asking them for project ideas.
However, chamber members are not the only ones encouraged to offer suggestions for cleaning projects.
All residents in the St. Marys community are encouraged to ask for help.
The teenagers could help wash windows, pick up litter, paint and pull weeds.
“It’s open to the community,” Rompilla said. “It’s not just a chamber member event, it’s not just for businesses. It’s for people in general. There’s so many different things out there, we just need people to let us know what projects they need help with.”
Service organizations are invited to contact the chamber with any service projects they may have.
“The project itself is going to bring the community together,” Rompilla said. “This day is an opportunity for the community to make a difference with the youth of tomorrow.”
St. Marys Area Chamber of Commerce Director Kelly Kill told The Evening Leader she was looking forward to Pay It Forward and how it could benefit the community.
“I’m very excited about it,” she said. “This is a great opportunity for other students to experience how much fun it can be to give back to your community.”
Kill said her office was busy gathering project ideas from local businesses and residents.
“But we need a lot more projects,” she said. “It’s community service, but it can be fun.”
Anyone interested in sending project ideas to the chamber of commerce may do so at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 419-300-4611.
The deadline to submit project ideas is April 10.