CRANBERRY TWP — A township supervisor got a $1,000 grant from his employer for the Cranberry Township Community Chest’s 2015 Project of the Year.

The project is a $500,000 initiative to recruit and retain more volunteer firefighters in Butler County.

Bruce Hezlep, a township supervisor and a former president of the Cranberry fire company, was one of the first people to bring the idea to the Community Chest more than three years ago.

He got the $1,000 grant from his employer, L.B. Foster in Green Tree, Allegheny County.

The addition of the grant brings the total raised to $274,827 in over two months of fundraising.

Hezlep said he’s pleased that his employer decided to support the project, adding that the company previously donated money to help bring a piece of steel from the World Trade Center to put on display in Cranberry Township.

“The company has a long history of supporting various nonprofits that employees are passionate about or engaged in,” he added.

There’s a reason Hezlep is so passionate about the project. He was one of the first to propose bringing the firefighter initiative to Butler County, an idea that had its roots in a similar program through the Community College of Allegheny County.

It was more than three years ago that Hezlep talked with officials from the Community Chest about the idea, and he’s amazed that it’s finally becoming a reality.

“You have to be careful what you say around Bruce Mazzoni,” Hezlep said. “If you say it out loud, there’s a good chance it’s probably going to happen. He’s such a dedicated community servant who always brings energy and passion to what he does.”

Mazzoni, the treasurer of the Community Chest who also is a township supervisor, said that he’s putting the finishing touches on a marketing campaign to start in several weeks.

The Community Chest plans to mail out more than 5,500 informational fliers to businesses explaining the project to help boost the pace of fundraising.

Mazzoni is pleased with the fundraising, given that the Community Chest has raised more than $274,000 without an aggressive marketing campaign.

The project’s money will go to buy a $130,000 emergency trailer that will be used as a recruitment and educational tool, while the rest of the money will go to establish scholarships at the Butler County Community College.

Those scholarships only will be available to students who pledge two years of service in a fire department.

Mazzoni also had praise for Hezlep, who he said was the brains behind the 2015 Project of the Year.

“The idea of this project and making it a countywide effort really started with Bruce about three years ago, and he’s been an important co-chair of this project from the beginning,” Mazzoni said.