Proper remembrance

Meadows Place resident spruces up city hall with Eagle Scout Project

By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM

Lucas Leal, a lifelong resident of Meadows Place, was looking for a final service project to complete his requirements to become an Eagle Scout.

The 18-year-old Dulles High School senior saw that many of the U.S. flags hanging outside homes his community were frayed or torn. As a patriotic young man, he decided the best thing he could do was assemble a box for people to drop off their old flags so the could be retired in the proper manner.

"To me, the flag has always represented free - dom, the freedoms we have in this country," he said.

Leal has been involved in Scouting for many years, first as a Cub Scout and steadily moving up the ranks. At first, he said, he didn't set his sights on becoming an Eagle Scout, but as he learned new skills and earned more merit badges, the ambition gradually took hold. He had earned the required Eagle-level merit badges, such as camping, wilderness survival. and swimming, but deciding on a final service project had stumped him a bit.

After searching on the internet, the idea of a flag retirement box seemed to be the perfect idea. He sent off for a kit box, and on January 14, he and several of his friends spent about five-and-a-half hours painstakingly assembling the box in front of City Hall. An extremely sped-up video of the full assembly process can be found on the city's website at cityofmeadowsplace. org/city-hall-flag-retirement-drop-box.