She’s tiny, but mighty — that’s how Councilwoman Jane Bonner (C-Rocky Point) described Sound Beach civic president Bea Ruberto.

The 69-year-old editor and president of the Sound Beach Civic Association has lived in Sound Beach for more than 30 years, and her impact on the area is not only seen upon entering the hamlet but also felt far and wide.

Ruberto helped with the replacement of the Welcome to Sound Beach sign, organized and managed the Celebrate Sound Beach weekend, conducted successful Hamlet-wide garage sale, expanded the civic’s bimonthly newsletter, hosted the annual Pet Adopt-A-Thon for Brookhaven residents and chaired the annual scholarship fund food fair and silent auction, which raised and awarded $14,000 to local students. She also helped add an extra bus stop that takes commuters into Port Jefferson, to make the last morning train into the city. But what Ruberto said she is most proud of, though, is how she obtained grant applications to secure funds to improve the pedestrian walkway on Echo Avenue — a project that is near completion.

“I’m elated about the whole thing — it needed to be revitalized,” Ruberto said of the road. “The town has been very receptive to making changes along the way as needed and they did a fantastic job.”

Ruberto said she first approached Bonner with the problem when she saw a photo that showed a bus moving into the middle of the road while a runner raced alongside a wooded area.

Bonner said it’s been a pleasure working alongside Ruberto.

“She’s got a heart the size of Texas, cares passionately about Sound Beach and her role as a civic leader and is one of their most wonderful advocates,” she said. “She’s very forward-thinking; she’s patient; she understands. She’s one of those people that got put on Earth to help people, and she does a great job.”

Dan Losquadro, the highway superintendent for the Town of Brookhaven, has worked on various projects with Ruberto over the last several years and said she’s also been a driving force to get things done.

“Bea is someone that is passionate about her community,” he said. “Sometimes you meet people who don’t understand the work that goes into these projects or the time constraints and budget limits, but Bea has been someone who is always very understanding and easy to work with, but is also persistent. She never gives up on an issue.”

Mimi Hodges, a 58-year-old resident who grew up in Sound Beach, said Ruberto engaged her right away when she arrived to the area, helping her get involved in the civic — where she got to see the kinds of things Ruberto does, however obvious or subtle they may be.

“I’m just a little person who’s so impressed — the fact that she juggles all of this is amazing to me and she has so much energy and to be able to do what she does is remarkable,” she said. “She has a warmth and a generosity to her that I haven’t seen since I was a child, honestly. I say that with no hesitation.”

What she also liked, she said, is how Ruberto was able to make changes that enhanced and bettered the community, while maintaining its old hamlet charm that it had when she was a child.

The passion Ruberto has for Sound Beach was also recognized by state Sen. Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson), who honored Ruberto as his Woman of Distinction in 2014.

Charlotte Fritts, the 65-year-old secretary for the civic for the last four years, said she has seen how tirelessly Ruberto works for the community and also said that the way Ruberto handles issues is appreciated by both the Sound Beach residents and the political figures that govern it.

“When she feels that a project is good for the community, she holds on to it, works with it in a very nice way and has established a great rapport with representatives in Brookhaven town,” she said. “She doesn’t just go to them with problems, but researches to bring various solutions to that problem, which makes it nice for them because then they have something to work with.”

Fritts said everything Ruberto accomplished thus far has not only benefited the community by making it better but also enriched neighbors’ lives as well.

“I admire her greatly — she’s tenacious,” Fritts said. “She’s really a very civic-minded individual and a very bright woman who is also a good neighbor. She’s very approachable to people in the community. She’s a caring person. A simple something that may not seem as important to a whole community is important to one person and she never makes anything seem unimportant. She always listens and helps resolve a situation.”

Fritts, along with other members of the community and politicians, said someone like Ruberto is needed in a community. It’s important to her, and it shows.

“The civic worked on issues that were important to the community as a whole and that interested me,” Ruberto said of first joining the civic back in 1995. “The people in Sound Beach are a wonderful bunch of people that really appreciate what the civic does. Seeing the rewards and the progress, that’s what it’s all about. No matter how hard leading up to something is, once it works out the rewards are unbelievable.”