By C. Lawrence
The Eagle Scout Award is Scouting’s highest rank and one of the most familiar icons. The rank of Eagle Scout may be earned by a Scout who has been an active Life Scout for at least six months, demonstrates Scout Spirit by living the Scout Oath and Scout Law, and has earned a total of 21 merit badges. Local Scout Johnny Stuart is currently working on his Eagle Scout project to earn this highest rank.
For the project, Stuart created a plan to present to his project advisor, the city council, and the fire department for discussion and approval. Everyone was on board with his ideas. The project is centered around performing upgrades to the Lion’s Club Snack Shack at the Memorial Park football field. The Lion’s Club has sponsored and supported the Scouts since about 1980, so they were thrilled to see the plans for the concession stand improvements. The Lion’s Club and the Scouts have collaborated for years on many different things, including working together to run the concessions during football games and a group of Scouts cleaning up garbage after each game.
As part of the project, Stuart is required to follow certain guidelines and procedures. Chairperson and advisor, Bob Barber, explained that Stuart worked hard to create his plan and put it into action. “It was challenging to get certain things done due to COVID,” Barber mentioned. There has been a lot of collaboration on the project as well. Stuart enlisted the help of other Scouts and volunteers to help accomplish his goals. His plan consisted of re-painting the exterior of the building and adding some spray paint work as well as hand-painted work, some repairs to the stand, and installing a flagpole nearby.
Weiser High School Principal had to sign off on the addition of the flagpole. The Weiser Rural Fire Department assisted by bringing in a truck and hose to clean the exterior of the building to prepare it for paint. Fellow Scouts volunteered to help scrape and paint the building. In total, there were about 14 youth volunteers on this project.
John Goff donated pipe for the project. Farm Commercial Irrigation assisted with several tasks, K Hardware donated some paint and gave them a great deal on additional purchases, and Mike Campbell with the city helped coordinate tasks for the project. “The project looks great! It looks clean and well done,” said Bob Barber. Barber shared that this project was also a money-making project where Stuart was required to earn money to purchase the materials he needed. It ended up being about $500 which included the flagpole that the city will install at a later date.
Stuarts friends, family, fellow Scouts, and his mentors are so proud of his accomplishments so far. The project has yet to be completed, as it will take time to work on all the repairs that need to be done. But they are all confident that his work will be excellent and something to boast about. Weiser is lucky to have such an upstanding young man working to improve our great little town. Folks, if you haven’t been by to see the Snack Shack since it was painted, definitely go have a look. The work that has been done looks amazing.
Thank you, Stuart, and best of luck on finishing your project to earn your Eagle Scout Rank!
