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re: Eagle Scout project question Update on page 4: The Eagle has landed!!

Posted on 4/9/24 at 7:33 am to
Posted by Lonnie Utah
Utah!
Member since Jul 2012
26551 posts
Posted on 4/9/24 at 7:33 am to
Oh Mom and Dad have helped plenty! But mostly by driving him places and arranging opportunities (mainly finding the right folks to talk to). I've been very clear with him that he is responsible to talk to people about his project. In the beginning it was somewhat difficult for him as his parents have pretty strong personalities, and we can tend to over talk him (but that's on mom and dad, not him.) I've coached him some on the public speaking part. For example he likes to lead my mentioning the person he's building the bench in memory of, "I'm building a bench at the pond for Mr. So and So" and I have to remind him, "They don't know who that is, so tell them about him and why he was important." Stuff like that. As he's talked to more people, he's gotten much more comfortable about it. The budget and time tracking are still a little challenging for him (writing everyone's time down and recording it on the computer), but he's getting the hang of it.

I did zero welding on the bench he build, but did cut the square and rectangular tubing to length as instructed by him and his project coach.
This post was edited on 4/9/24 at 7:35 am
Posted by CHEDBALLZ
South Central LA
Member since Dec 2009
22340 posts
Posted on 4/10/24 at 6:48 am to
My son's buddy did this for used baseball equipment. He set up at a ball park and had 2 truck loads of stuff and all he did was advertise on FB.

I would...
Set up a day for a local collection point, say a local park or boat ramp. Advertise at boat ramps, local bass clubs and FB. Offer to pick up equipment if they can't make it to a drop off point.

Posted by Cracker
in a box
Member since Nov 2009
18337 posts
Posted on 4/10/24 at 10:37 am to
If he knocked on my door an told me he was doing this project I would RUN to the store to buy him gear.

He should make a flyer about the project to hand out
ask at Church
flyers to neighbors
door knock and ask for old equipment.

Maybe set up a table outside of academy or bass pro and have a sign " Tell me how you got started in fishing" then have him pitch everyone about your project and ask if they could spare a lure or money to buy a rod combo or anything to do with your project to drop it off at your table on their way out. you may be surprised.

SORRY I DIDNT READ THROUGH THE POST UNTIL AFTER I POSTED HECK YEAH WHAT A GREAT JOB!!!!!
This post was edited on 4/10/24 at 10:41 am
Posted by Lonnie Utah
Utah!
Member since Jul 2012
26551 posts
Posted on 4/11/24 at 4:53 pm to
quote:

SORRY I DIDNT READ THROUGH THE POST UNTIL AFTER I POSTED HECK YEAH WHAT A GREAT JOB!!!!!


No worries. Maybe it will help someone else along the way.
Posted by SCwTiger
armpit of 'merica
Member since Aug 2014
6236 posts
Posted on 4/11/24 at 7:11 pm to
This here is what raising a fine young man is all about!!
Posted by Lonnie Utah
Utah!
Member since Jul 2012
26551 posts
Posted on 4/12/24 at 8:19 am to
quote:

This here is what raising a fine young man is all about!!


First off, thank you very much. We've tried hard to make him into a young man. They had troop elections this past week and he decided to run for Chaplin. The fact that was the leadership position he wanted meant alot to me and his mom.

You know as any parent will tell you, you get to see it all with your kid(s). You see the good and the bad. You don't always get to see that with other kids. As a result, it sometimes makes you wonder how your kids "stacks up" against their peers. Yesterday, we had to sign our taxes at the accountants office over lunch time. On the way home, we stopped a the local Wendy's to grab a quick bite on the way home. I think 1/2 of the local high school was in there with the same intention. After 5 mins around kids a bit older than our, when I got back in the car the first thing I said to my wife was, "Our kid is smart." It amazed me how some of the kids had no real concept of etiquette, money, basic addition and subtraction, or generally just common sense. And these were suburban white kids from a fairly affluent area. Not saying my kid is a rocket scientist or anything, just that he seems more grounded than they typical teenager.
Posted by Lonnie Utah
Utah!
Member since Jul 2012
26551 posts
Posted on 4/12/24 at 3:12 pm to
Powder coating company called today. Ready for installation, 1 month ahead of schedule.

Posted by Lonnie Utah
Utah!
Member since Jul 2012
26551 posts
Posted on 4/29/24 at 7:23 pm to
Fishing day with the kids is a couple of weeks away. The scouts are rehabbing the rods this weekend. Here's the count to date. He's collected 135 Rods so far; 90 New, and 45 used. Some of the used rods (4-5) are pretty worn and I'm not really sure how good they will be. He's got a few hundred dollars left in donated funds so he should be able to get to 150 before it's all said and done. He originally agreed to do 30.

Looking at his tracking budget, with a couple of weeks to go, folks donated close to $3,500 in cash, materials and equipment to this project.
This post was edited on 4/29/24 at 7:28 pm
Posted by Lonnie Utah
Utah!
Member since Jul 2012
26551 posts
Posted on 5/5/24 at 1:48 pm to
Yesterday was the work day where the scouts cleaned and restrung the used rods. They also unpacked the new ones. Wanna see what 150 fishing rods looks like? Something like this.....



Edit: And yes, the dog is mad because he sleeps on those old pillows from time to time...
This post was edited on 5/6/24 at 7:38 am
Posted by ATL_Tigerfan
Atlanta, GA
Member since Feb 2022
143 posts
Posted on 5/5/24 at 4:39 pm to
I have a client that hauls off residential junk and has contracts with certain apartment complexes and townhomes to clean out apartments after evictions.

I've seen them bring in waders, inflatable boats, rods reels, tackle boxes, etc.

May be someone to contact if you have junk haulers in the area.
Posted by Higgysmalls
Ft Lauderdale
Member since Jun 2016
6799 posts
Posted on 5/5/24 at 7:15 pm to
If they are really stressed. Just go door to door. If someone came to my door and asked I could probably give up 3 or 4
Posted by Lonnie Utah
Utah!
Member since Jul 2012
26551 posts
Posted on 5/5/24 at 7:33 pm to
I think he's good at the point. He promised the wildlife dept 30 rods. He's passed that number 5x. :)
Posted by Lonnie Utah
Utah!
Member since Jul 2012
26551 posts
Posted on 5/6/24 at 7:41 am to
And I meant to add this yesterday, but forgot. During the course of this project, I learned that partnered with Zebco, Cabela's/Bass Pro Shops donate over 35,000 rods/reels to youth and community fishing outreach organizations over the course of a year.
Posted by Lonnie Utah
Utah!
Member since Jul 2012
26551 posts
Posted on 5/14/24 at 8:32 pm to
We dropped them off today. The bench was gorgeous after powder coating. It was a great project. We are so proud of him.

Thanks to the board for all the ideas and help!
Posted by Stexas
SWLA
Member since May 2013
6282 posts
Posted on 5/15/24 at 7:07 am to
Congratulations to you both!
Posted by Dam Guide
Member since Sep 2005
15947 posts
Posted on 5/15/24 at 12:19 pm to
Congrats, always good to hear of another finishing up their eagle.
Posted by aTmTexas Dillo
East Texas Lake
Member since Sep 2018
17576 posts
Posted on 5/15/24 at 3:32 pm to
Is this a Scouting America project?
Posted by uncommon sense
Member since Feb 2024
125 posts
Posted on 5/15/24 at 3:51 pm to
The most important element of this is the "service to others" aspect. Please post how many cumulative total scout hours were spent on the project. That is the measuring stick among Eagle Scouts regarding the magnitude of their service project.

This post was edited on 5/15/24 at 3:52 pm
Posted by Lonnie Utah
Utah!
Member since Jul 2012
26551 posts
Posted on 5/16/24 at 8:13 am to
quote:

The most important element of this is the "service to others" aspect. Please post how many cumulative total scout hours were spent on the project. That is the measuring stick among Eagle Scouts regarding the magnitude of their service project.


Looking at his tracking spreadsheet here's the breakdown.

He spent about 65 hours all told working on the project. 8 of those were planning hours and 57 "Execution hours". That includes two 8 hour days welding the bench, and an 8 hour day working with the kids at the fishing event. Fourteen other scouts in his troop contributed about 40 hours of work (doing the rod rehab). Ten Adult BSA members had about 120 hours in the project. This includes mom and dad's time driving him to work on his project, the speaking events he attended and chaperoning him while he did his fund raising. He had a parent with him the whole time he worked on this, often times two. Additionally, the wildlife offices, the shop and the park where he finished the project is about 45 mins away, so there is a good bit of drive time in those numbers. All of that inflated his numbers a bit and he'll have to answer that question during his BOR. The rest of the time from folks that were not mom and dad including meeting with the local council members, and the other leaders that showed up to help him rehab the rods that about 30 hours. Eight non-BSA registered adults contributed over 40 hours to the project. This was his hardest metric to track, because in includes the welding in the shop, transportation of the bench to and from the shop to the powder-coating company and a few other things. Not all of those folks kept good track of their time during the process so he made a bit of an estimate. (Since he paid the company for the powder coating he did not include that time in the tracking.) But if anything, that number is low. According to my math, that's about 265 total hours.
This post was edited on 5/16/24 at 8:14 am
Posted by Lonnie Utah
Utah!
Member since Jul 2012
26551 posts
Posted on 6/30/24 at 7:22 am to
Hi everyone a penultimate update. He submitted his final Eagle project report this week and it was approved. Yesterday he finished his last two Eagle required merit badges (Citizenship in Society and Personal management). All he has left now is completing his eagle scout application and the board of review. He was so proud of himself yesterday and so was I.

His project has been the spark which stirred a flurry of Eagle projects in the older kids in our troop that have been procrastinating. We have no less than 6 separate projects going right now.
This post was edited on 6/30/24 at 7:26 am
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