Neighbor Spotlight: Mona Costanza wears many hats as a Plum community leader

Editor’s note: Neighbor Spotlight is a monthly feature that aims to let our readers learn more about the people in their communities who are working to make them a better place, who have interesting stories to tell or who the community feels deserve “15 minutes of fame.” If you would like to nominate someone as a Neighbor Spotlight, email Neighborhood News Network editor Katie Green at kgreen@triblive.com.

Plum clerical staff’s desire to wear jeans in the office about 10 years ago has resulted in a merry Christmas for many borough families.

The Plum Angel Fund was started in 2011 by Mona Costanza, assistant to borough manager Michael Thomas.

Employees who want to wear jeans on Fridays contribute to the fund, which then is used at the end of the year to buy gifts for children and families identified by the school district. It has raised about $8,300 since its inception.

“It turned out to be a great program,” Costanza said. “You do see it everywhere. It’s definitely caught on. I just think it’s so important to give back.”

The fund is just one of many efforts organized by the longtime staffer and borough liaison to the Plum Chamber of Commerce.

“Anything that we do that’s serving the community, whether its our Boro Haps events or all our volunteer stuff, Mona spearheads everything,” Thomas said. “From coming up with the ideas to planning and implementation of everything. We couldn’t get any of that done without her. She is one of the most organized and detail-oriented persons I know. … She lives this job.”

Costanza, 55, moved to Plum with her parents, Richard and Josephine Costanza, from East Liberty in the early 1970s. She also has a younger sister, Tina, who lives in Erie.

Costanza grew up in the Holiday Park neighborhood and began working for the borough part time through a co-op work experience program at Plum High School in 1982. She graduated the following year and was hired as a full-time clerical worker.

She credited high school teacher Beth Petrovich with getting her prepared for the business world and sending her to various typing and shorthand competitions.

“She was my driving force,” Costanza said. “It just came very natural to me.”

After her first decade in the office, Costanza resigned in 1993 to raise a family with her then husband, Bob Burkhouse Jr. The two have a daughter, Brittany, 28, and a son, Brent, 24.

She was asked to return to work in 2002 and became assistant to the borough manager in 2011.

Costanza and her volunteers are responsible for various events such as Fall Fest, Christmas at Plum Creek and Movies in the Park at Larry Mills Park. She also works on the borough’s social media pages, any borough contributions to InPlum magazine and other special projects.

Costanza is in her fifth nonconsecutive year as president of Plum Rotary. The club has organized many projects for the community, such as blood drives and wellness clinics. Rotary members have assisted Meals on Wheels, volunteered at the Blessing Board and collected shoes for Nicaragua to name a few projects.

The club just launched its inaugural sock drive to support Socks with a Mission, a Pittsburgh-area charity dedicated to helping the homeless.

She has been on the board of directors for the chamber of commerce since 2016.

“It keeps me busy, but I’ve made some friendships that will last forever,” Costanza said. “It does feel good. It’s almost selfish reasons I get involved and stay involved. From the business aspect of it, once you wrap up a community event and you see thousands of people and how happy they are … it’s really a good feeling.”

Even with all the projects, she still made time to learn about interior decorating via a part-time job at Pier 1 Imports in Monroeville. She worked there for about seven years until the company’s stores closed last year largely because of the pandemic.

When she is not wearing one of her many Plum hats, Costanza relaxes at home with her husband of six years, Jim Fierst, and their 4-month-old Poochon mixed-breed puppy, Rizzo.

“We have an amazing community,” Costanza said. “Any time we have someone in need, the community comes together. Working for the borough, I just feel it’s great to give back. I’m fortunate to work with a talented and dedicated staff. The community has no idea how committed we all are to making the borough the best place to live and raise a family.”

Costanza also served as interim manager twice and interim assistant manager twice during her career.