by Nathan Boddy
During an unseasonably warm afternoon on October 20, members of the public gathered at Red Barn Bicycles south of Hamilton to hear an update from Alice and Phil Leonardi regarding the project that has occupied much of their attention since the tragic death of their son, Robert, in July of 2019. On that occasion, Robert, who was 9 years old at the time, was struck and killed in a high speed hit-and-run near his home on Golf Course Road. Joseph McNamara, the driver of the automobile, fled the scene but was later apprehended and sentenced to 55 years in prison for negligent homicide, tampering with evidence and possession of methamphetamine.
The tragedy was deeply impactful to the community, and out of the tragedy the The Play Like Robert Foundation was formed. Phil and Alice explained that it really began as a response to the financial support that was flowing their way following their son’s death.
“We just didn’t want to spend it on ourselves,” said Alice Leonardi about the money that had been generated through a GoFundMe account that had been set up in their names. Instead, the Leonardis began to search for ways to use the funds in honor of Robert.
The Play Like Robert Foundation has since accomplished a variety of projects such as funding reading programs and installation of playground equipment for area schools. One primary goal of the foundation has been the creation of safe travel alternatives within and around Hamilton. In this spirit, and along with cooperation of the Bitterroot Stock Farm, the foundation was successful in the creation of a pathway leading from Golf Course Road northwesterly to the base of Tammany Hill. Known as the RAL Trail (for Robert A. Leonardi), this one mile long path has access points at each end, and in the middle on Big Corral Road.
But their efforts to see the development of safe travel for cyclists and pedestrians does not stop there. Phil and Alice, along with a group of motivated actors, began to envision a wider ranging set of trails. To that end, the Play Like Robert Foundation partnered with Ravalli County and was successful in receiving a $1.4 million grant from the Transportation Alternatives Program of the Montana Department of Transportation. This grant, once coupled with a required $300,000 of matching community funds, will see the engineering and construction of a pedestrian/commuter path west along Golf Course Road, north onto Kurtz Lane, and clear to the metaphorical ‘front steps’ of Daly Elementary.
Both Phil and Alice Leonardi have been longstanding teachers at Corvallis High School, and have taken the steps to put their principles of civic involvement into action. Alice says that their efforts are an attempt to, “turn a tragedy into something positive for the community,” and points out that, as a teacher, she uses Robert’s story as a way to illustrate the impacts that personal behavior can have, and what community-mindedness can mean.
Being focused on the community, while moved by their own tragedy, made it clear to Alice and Phil Leonardi that a trail network was something the community needed.
“That was the worst day of our lives, as we watched him die in front of us,” said Alice, speaking about the day Robert was killed. “On the flip side of that, the community was so gracious, beyond words gracious. That money and support just kept pouring in, and Phil and I just didn’t quite know what to do with all of that. The one thing that we knew we wanted to do was to make Golf Course Road safer, because we saw people biking, walking, running, all along Golf Course Road.”
The terms of the grant require that the matching $300,000 be raised by January of 2026, and the Leonardis were happy to report that, as of October, approximately $260,000 has so far been raised. The fundraising effort, entitled, “One Step at a Time,” encourages potential donors to think about the required community match in terms of the individual steps to build the one mile of trail, or approximately $57 per “step.”
“This is happening,” said Alice. “People ask me and Phil regularly, ‘is this going to happen?’ No, this is happening. The state of Montana has agreed to give us the money.” Alice explained that the foundation is proceeding by paying the cost of engineering so that construction can get underway by spring of 2026.
Phil Leonardi expressed his intention on staying the course with the proposed trail, and even his hopes for how it might be expanded into a larger regional network. His comments drew upon his concern for safety and opportunity of his neighbors, and he closed by informing those gathered that he had no intention of stopping. Ilona Bessenyey, who was instrumental in helping the foundation get its start with the trail network along the Tammany Hill property, reiterated Phil’s statements.
“Phil and Alice’s point is that if you don’t do something, you’ll just kind of stop, whether it’s drop dead or just become a shriveled version of who you were,” said Bessenyey. “And they have thrown their life and their energy and money and enthusiasm into the Play Like Robert Foundation.”
For more information on the Play Like Robert Foundation, the RAL Trail and links to donate per step, hop, skip or jump, visit the foundation website at: https://www.playlikerobert.org