The Eagle Project

This weekend I had the privilege to participate in an Eagle Project for one of our Local Scouts.

The eagle project is the capstone and final element to acquiring your Eagle Rank in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA).  It is what sets you apart from the other scouts and shows you have the stuff it takes to be a future leader and productive member of society.
See the history of the Eagle Scout Badge Here.

The idea behind the project is that the boy with some help and guidance from adult leaders and parents will go out and locate a service project which he then coordinators and manages to completion.
Depending on the location and what is to be done the harder part maybe just finding a project in the first place.  All projects have to be approved by a local BSA coordinator.  Upon approval the heavy lifting can begin.



I've seen, been involved in, or heard of projects that range from blood drives, building a bridge at a nature center, making beep balls for the blind to play baseball, finger printing children in front of a grocery store, making benches for a museum, clearing helicopter landing pads at a state park, and can food drives etc.  The possibilities are endless and only depend on what you have in your local area.

The main component of the project requires that the youth must line up people to help fulfill the project.  This might require people to show up to do the manual labor, or give blood. There is also the necessity to acquire the needed materials like wood or concrete, and tools to do the clearing or assembly.  Not an easy task depending on what you decide to do.



I ran into problems with my project that my labor (People from my scout troop and church) mainly did not materialize on my first weekend.  We had the local fish fry carnival that Saturday and my turn out was very slim.  The next weekend with little or no conflicts the turn out was more in the 20-30 person range, which allowed my to cover all the trails in the nature center in 1 day.  I had to adapt the first weekend and find a better use of my limited labor.



So our soon to be Eagle Scout had to adapt with one of the few rain storms we've had this winter.  He also had to deal with plan issues that were not clear.  Several of the pieces for the benches were not cut properly since there was confusion on the angles.  It turns out he has some issues with the benches sitting flat though he will fix this be adjusting the tightness of the bolts and other hardware.

The good part is he has people from various ages helping and has found suitable activities for each age group.  He has learned first hand what it takes to adapt your project, and to run it to completion.
Now many of the adults that work in construction of have some type of experience with assembling things were very helpful in get the task completed.   He also dealt with low quality lumber (full of knots, bowed and wet) that did not help when it was cut.  It actually bucked when being cut with the radial saw.  Thus the issues with the benches being level.

This young man really had to work on the fly despite his best laid plans.  He had to line up people to help, make sure there were proper tools available and that the right raw materials had been acquired.  He truly demonstrated leadership as he has worked to complete this project.   The Chino air museum will truly be blessed to have these bench available for use.









So the next time someone asks you to help out on their project, take a little time out of your day to help make a future leader of America.   And do hire those that are Eagle Scouts.  We know what it takes to get things done!


If your an Eagle Scout please tell us about your Project in the comments section.   It might help a scouting looking for a project.

Buaidh - NO - Bas