EDUCATION
Local Brookhaven scout troop treks through pandemic year BY SAMMIE PURCELL A local teen led part of his Scouts BSA troop in building an information kiosk in Brookhaven Park, one of many Eagle Scout projects the troop has seen come to pass over a difficult, pandemic-filled 18 months. Chase Stewart – a 15-year-old sophomore at Marist School and a member of Troop 379 out of Brookhaven’s St. Martin’s Episcopal Church – chose the kiosk as his project, leading him one step closer to achieving the highest rank a scout can muster – Eagle Scout. “[Brookhaven Park] wanted a kiosk to display information and help visitors in the park,” Stewart said. “So I just tried to fill that need.” Eagle Scout is the highest rank Scouts BSA – a year round program for 11 to 17-year-old boys and girls – offers to its members. To reach the Eagle Scout level, members have to pass through six other ranks: Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, and Life. Stewart hasn’t quite made it to his Eagle Scout rank yet, but with this Eagle Scout project, one of the big objectives is out of the way. On Sept. 12, he and a few
“It will be interesting getting to interact with my scout troop again and see how they have progressed. I definitely am interested in what type of projects they did in this post-pandemic environment.” Sam Shapira
Brookhaven Councilmember Madeleine Simmons with Chase Stewart (second from left) and the other scouts in front of the Brookhaven Park kiosk.
THANK YOU, ATLANTA! FOR LETTING US WOO YOU!
WOOSKINCAREANDCOSMETICS.COM PEACHTREE BATTLE SHOPPING CENTER 2339-A PEACHTREE ROAD 20 DECEMBER 2021| REPORTER NEWSPAPERS
PACES FERRY SHOPPING CENTER 3509 NORTHSIDE PKWY NW
other scouts headed out to Brookhaven Park to work on the kiosk. But the work actually started long before that. Stewart said he spent months doing prep work like cutting wood, drilling holes, and taking measurements for the kiosk. When the day of the build finally came, he instructed the other scouts on how to put the structure together. “We’re not really supposed to be doing the work, we’re supposed to be helping guide others to complete it,” Stewart said of leading an Eagle Scout project. “We do the prep work, they do the work on building day.” The Brookhaven Park kiosk is one of many projects members of Troop 379 have worked on over the past 18 months, said Assistant Scoutmaster Jay Schmitt. Other Eagle Scout projects include another information kiosk at a park in Sandy Springs, a shade structure at Atlanta’s Emmaus House, and a sustainable garden at the Peachtree Creek Greenway. “You need a project, we’re there,” Schmitt said. All of these projects and all of the work to become an Eagle Scout – which includes earning a total of 21 merit badges and holding a leadership position – leads up to the main event: the Eagle Court of Honor, which was held at Blackburn Park on Oct. 31. While Stewart didn’t participate this year, Schmitt said this year’s ceremony honored 13 scouts for achieving the highest rank possible. Schmitt said normally a ceremony would only recognize two or three, but because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, more scouts have had time to earn the honor. “It’s really a culmination of what is, at a minimum, four years of work,” said reporternewspapers.com BH
