Dedicated to her community

Laura Hartman loves her community of Scott — and she puts that devotion into action.

She was instrumental in getting a referendum passed in 1999 for a library to be built in Scott.

Now, as head of the Scott Pool Citizens Advisory Committee, she has helped to get the township a new community pool. The Scott commissioners recently approved plans for a new pool and the groundbreaking is scheduled for Aug. 17, the day after the the existing 50-year-old pool closes.

“I’m active in the Scott Township community, and I’m active in the swimming community. It was my goal to bring them both together,” Mrs. Hartman said of her involvement in the pool project.

Mrs. Hartman, 55, is administrator for Allegheny Mountain Swimming, which governs and encourages competitive swimming in Western Pennsylvania. It is the local affiliate for Swim USA.

Her roots in swimming go back to her childhood in Boardman, Ohio, where she swam competitively from ages 6 to 18. She gave up competitive swimming when she went to college at Miami University of Ohio but worked as a lifeguard and taught swimming during the summer months.

“Then there was about a 10-year gap after I graduated and before my oldest child was about 7 or 8 and started swimming,” she said. Her two daughters, Allison, 25, and Kelly, 22, grew up swimming competitively with the Scott Township Summer Swim Team and then the Chartiers Valley Swim Club Team. They also swam while students at Chartiers Valley High School. Like their mother, both girls also served as life guards and swim teachers.

Through her daughters’ involvement with swim teams, Mrs. Hartman volunteered with the Chartiers Valley Swim Club team, serving on the board and helping to organize the team and swim meets. She also volunteered with the booster club for the high school swim team. She was asked to help with the Allegheny Mountain Swimming organization part time, and her involvement soon became full time.

While her daughters were growing up, Mrs. Hartman worked for Xerox for 20 years in various sales and training positions.

When the township was trying to decide what to do with its 50-year-old pool, Commissioner Tom Castello turned to Mrs. Hartman and asked her to head a committee on the topic.

“Laura was the natural choice. She ran the successful campaign for the library and is very active in the community. Plus, she is a swimmer and her daughters were swimmers,” he said.

Mrs. Hartman’s professional role with Allegheny Mountain Swimming also was a factor, Mr. Castello said.

“She has the contacts and resources we need to get the job done. And maybe most important of all, she has the political skills to negotiate something like this,” he said.

The township pool was starting to show its age.

“It was in need of significant repairs so it became a question of whether to put all of that money into fixing it or build a new pool,” Mrs. Hartman said. It made sense to replace it, she said.

With Mrs. Hartman’s expertise and relationship with Swim USA, the committee was able to develop a plan for a new pool.

The new pool will include a zero entry area, where younger children can play; a diving board; a dual slide; and a new feature of recreational pools, climbing walls.

The pool will meet competition regulations so that it can be used for swim meets.

“We can bring notoriety and visibility to Scott through the swimming world, and the swim meets also have the potential to drive some revenue into the community,” Mrs. Hartman said.

“Our park and pool are our crown jewel,” Mr. Castello said. “It entices people to come to our community and see what a great place Scott Township is.”

He had praise for Mrs. Hartman’s role in the pool project.

“She was instrumental in making this happen,” he said. “She helps get things done that better our community. She is a good neighbor.”