Bryce Yang, Eagle Scout
Total Volunteer Hours Worked: 90
My Eagle Scout project is building 1 secured trex (Saddle) outdoor bench just outside of the main entrance of the Community of Faith United Methodist Church, and also installing and painting(red body w/ dark gray top) a (Prebuilt)book library next to it over the summer. The church has sponsored my troop through thick and thin, so this is a nice way to give back to not just the troop but also the church and the people as well. For my Eagle Scout project, I will begin by locking in the area where I plan to place the benches and library, and obtaining the necessary permissions for digging. Once approved, I will cut the composite wood and construct one 5-foot-wide outdoor bench. I will also build a table designed to support the little library, suitable for outdoor conditions. After construction, I will paint both the table and the library to match. Next, I will prepare the build site by digging holes for the legs of both structures. Once the site is ready, I will install the bench and library buy cementing them into the ground. Finally, I will clean up the area and donate any leftover materials to the church.
Observations and Challenges
During the project work days, we actually finished each day relatively on time, and the finished items look presentable. Overall the beneficiary organization is happy with it and I am satisfied as well.
Some challenges the team faced during the project work days involved working with power tools including working with the trex and using strong enough drills to get the screws into the wood. Also, digging the hole to avoid the electrical wiring at the church was difficult, and when we accidentally hit some, we had to dig away from it and then figure out how to add the concrete without getting any onto the wiring. Finally, ensuring a smooth coat for the library was also very difficult too.
Changes (from original proposal)
From the original project proposal I switched from multiple 1x3s pieces to 1x6s because the 1x3s in trex was not available (and it doesn’t matter very much anyways). Additionally I switched to pressure treated wood for the stand because you can’t paint trex. Further the depth that of the stand into the ground was increased to add stability to the structure. Finally the position of the library was changed to be closer to the curb.
Leadership
I showed leadership by ensuring that everyone had a job whenever possible and making decisions when things went not according to plan, a plan which I spent my time coming up with for them to follow. Things like when we were digging and hit a private electrical line(So it didn’t get found out by miss utility) or realizing trex can’t be painted, so I had to move it enough and add a barrier so that we didn’t get concrete on it and had to swap to normal wood. I also took initiative with contacting others for help and items as well.
The most difficult part about being the leader was definitely worrying that about plans not working out and going wrong; the most rewarding part about being the leader was seeing the project actually turn out and not look terrible and not fail either despite obstacles that came up.
I learned a lot about leadership. I realized more and more as I got deeper into the project that communication is way more important than the planning itself, because with proper enough communication the planning will figure itself out, and it also becomes mush easier to steer when the plans inevitably go awry, as I also have a lot more resources to work with. Speaking of which, I also improved my decision making a lot, and making final decisions was more fluid. Also in the same vein, I was more confident in those final decisions.
Project products