Zambelli to receive Boy Scout award for years of providing fireworks shows

The award is for those who have contributed to youths.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- George Zambelli Sr. added his name to a prestigious list of winners of the Silver Buffalo Award -- the highest honor given out by the Boy Scouts of America.
The New Castle businessman was to be honored Friday night in Philadelphia at the Boy Scout National Council's annual meeting.
Past winners of the award include aviator Charles Lindbergh, artist Norman Rockwell, General Colin L. Powell, Walt Disney, Hank Aaron, Bob Hope, Neil Armstrong and 14 presidents of the United States.
The award generally goes to those who have contributed to youths in some way, said Colleen Matthews, spokeswoman for the Boy Scouts of America.
Matthews said Zambelli's many years of providing fireworks to Scouting events were the main reason he was selected for the honor.
Zambelli, 75, has provided fireworks entertainment at every national Scout jamboree and Scoutmasters camporee since the 1970s.
Texas display
In 1978, he served on the program committee of the July 4 Star Spangled Spectacular in Plano, Texas -- a Boy Scouts of America-sponsored fireworks display celebrating national independence.
Zambelli and his family traveled to Philadelphia to receive the honor Friday night.
He is the owner of Zambelli Fireworks Internationale, the nation's oldest and largest fireworks manufacturer.
The company supplies has many as 4,000 fireworks shows a year, providing entertainment for sporting events such as the Super Bowl and Kentucky Derby, state fairs and foreign dignitary visits.