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Leo family will be honored at YSU Homecoming game tonight
GIRARD
When Justin Leo’s family is honored during the second quarter of Youngstown State University’s game today against Southern Illinois University, it will be among the first events to mark what will surely be a difficult month.
Oct. 21 will mark one year since Leo, a Girard police officer, was killed in the line of duty answering a domestic-violence call on Indiana Avenue.
Over the past year, Leo’s parents, lifetime educators Dave and Pat Leo, have worked hard to carry on their son’s legacy through scholarships and other events.
YSU and the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced the first Officer Justin A. Leo 324 Memorial Scholarship in Athletics will be awarded to Aleah Hughes, a YSU volleyball player. A plaque with her photo will be displayed in the Stambaugh Stadium Scholarship Loge Complex.
The scholarships were established by Leo’s parents, with help from family and friends.
“We’re proud of him,” Dave Leo said, adding it will be a hard month for the family.
The athletic scholarship endowment will be awarded annually to a YSU student-athlete with preference given to natives of Trumbull or Mahoning counties, especially graduates of Girard High School. The recipient must also demonstrate a commitment to community service.
The YSU Foundation also will award Justin Leo Memorial scholarships to three other students, two for students entering the police academy and one for a student enrolled in YSU’s Beeghly College of Education.
The same preference as the athletic scholarship will be given to these candidates, although they don’t have to be student-athletes.
Justin Leo, a YSU police academy graduate, worked for the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office and the Vienna Police Department before he was hired at the Girard Police Department in 2012, with the badge number 324.
He umpired for Little League games, coached youth basketball and volunteered for educational events at Girard schools.
“Officer Leo took great pride in being a police officer and was a very community-oriented person. It’s an honor to have a scholarship endowment in his name,” Paul McFadden, president of the YSU Foundation, said.
A memorial softball game between the Girard and Warren Police departments will take place Oct. 13 at Tod Park. The Leo family invites the public to come to the game and enjoy a free cookout.
Dave Leo said he and his wife will go to a Concerns of Police Survivors Retreat in Arkansas later this month, where they will connect with other parents of fallen officers a few days after the one-year anniversary of their son’s death.