Faces of the Valley: Gilpin resident Betty Smail dedicated to lifelong volunteering
Betty Smail of Gilpin began giving back to her rural community at a young age.
She hasn’t stopped.
Smail was tasked with washing “bird dirt” off tombstones in St. Catherine’s Cemetery when she was a child. Now, at 70, she’s still volunteering throughout the Leechburg and Gilpin communities.
“It meant you volunteered and did whatever needed done,” said Smail of her decision to always provide a helping hand where needed.
Smail still resides in her childhood home on Evergreen Road in Gilpin.
Her volunteering duties include counting the weekly collection at her parish; Christ the King Church in Gilpin; helping on the church bingo committee; assisting with parish bake sales; assisting with church decorations; various duties at the Leechburg Museum and Historical Society; the annual Halloweenburg event; previously selling hot dogs from the now closed Leechburg Volunteer Fire Department’s Weenie Wagon; and contributing to the Leechburg Area Community Association.
“It’s the right thing to do — to help others or organizations that need help and can’t pay people to get the job or task done,” Smail said.
Smail said her reputation as a volunteer often precedes her.
“I’ve been told more than once, by people I often round up to help when a volunteering job comes along, ‘If you see Betty’s phone number come up on your caller ID or hear Betty’s voice on the phone, don’t answer the phone!’ ” she said.
Smail has adopted a sports-minded approach to donating her time and talents.
“Put me in coach,” she said. “Just roll up your sleeves and do whatever needs done.”
Smail never married or had children and loves traveling, having visited all 50 states.
Smail has visited most of the Canadian provinces and has traveled throughout Europe.
She plans to visit Alaska in the fall, for the sixth time.
In 2009, Smail was inducted into the Leechburg Hall of Fame and named citizen of the year by the Leechburg Elks Citizen in 2010.
Former Leechburg Mayor Shawn Lerch has known Smail for years and described her as a steadfast volunteer.
“Her main quality is that no matter how busy or how tired she is, she’ll be there to lend a hand,” Lerch said.
Smail was a member of the special projects committee at Christ the King, making baby quilts and other items for shut-ins or veterans.
“Unfortunately, covid got in the way, and our group is all but disbanded,” she said.
Betty is the daughter of the late Irvin “Gene” and Louise Smail.
Betty Smail graduated from Leechburg Area High School in 1969. She worked at First National Bank in Leechburg for 41 years.
Smail said that these days, finding volunteers can be more challenging.
Fellow Gilpin resident and parishioner Sylvia Ravotti, 86, has been aware of Smail’s volunteer efforts for decades.
“She’s good. You need people like that — dedicated to a cause,” Ravotti said.
Smail said she believes that the most valuable thing people have to offer from a volunteering perspective is their time.
“Our volunteer time is priceless,” Smail said. “There’s soon to be a 100-year-old lady at my church — Ruth Sulava — who to this day continues to volunteer her time. I say to her, ‘Ruth, I want to be just like you when I grow up.’ ”
Joyce Hanz is a native of Charleston, S.C. and is a features reporter covering the Pittsburgh region. She majored in media arts and graduated from the University of South Carolina. She can be reached at jhanz@triblive.com
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