Duncan Fuehne and Jack Whitacre are recognized with a special ceremony highlighting their journey through Scouting and their dedication of service on their path to Eagle. Photo by Chad Lauritzen

Photo by Chad Lauritzen

During the ceremony, other Boy Scout members paid tribute to their fellow Scouts with special ceremonies highlighting not just the importance of reaching their project goals, but the new path that begins while they carry the mantel of an Eagle Scout.

Fuehne’s project was to build four benches and a picnic table for the Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) all from scratch. The work combined all the great things he loves including; woodworking, a project with his friends and something that would benefit the community.

“On the trail to Eagle, I developed a taste of adventure and instead of playing video games with my friends, I would rather climb a mountain or go skiing with them,” Fuehne said.

His Eagle project allowed him to combine fun with friends and the outdoors while building two different kinds of benches. One is a complex design that would last for a long time using lots of wood to make it as sturdy as possible. It was an original design, developed from a picture sent to him by Craig Martin, with his own ideas made to complete the design.

The second was a Leopold Bench, which consists of a triangular structure and simple design made to use as little wood as possible. The youth completed a 16-foot-long by 4-feet-wide bridge and a 6-foot-long picnic table to round out the project.

“My fellow scouts are great friends,” Fuehne said. “They cheerfully helped me on my project and did whatever task I assigned them to do. They always had a smile on their face and never complained.”

A young man benefits in many ways on his journey through the scouting process. When Whitacre joined as a young Cub Scout, he was quiet around people, now the high school student is not just a more outgoing person, but a leader, too. Whitacre’s Scout Master is Steve Mosier who Whitacre credits as a great teacher and leader while helping him throughout his scouting career.

Nan Holmes was another support staff on his way to Eagle. “I probably would not be an Eagle Scout without all Mrs. Holmes guidance,” Whitacre said. “She helps keep everything running.”

Whitacre’s project was to refurbish a shed on the Los Alamos Golf Course to provide support for the LAHS Golf Team. The project had to be approved by LAHS Golf Coach Andy Ainsworth and Golf Professional Donny Torres of the Los Alamos Golf Course. Whitacre worked on the planning, supply acquisition, coordinating volunteer work and seeing the project through to completion.

“A group of scouts, golfers and adults helped me with my Eagle Scout project,” Whitacre said. “This required building a wall inside the shed, priming and painting the shed, putting up shelves for storage and doing general landscaping around the shed.”

Whitacre also acknowledged the efforts of his parents on the building of the shed with dad Tom Whitacre helping him garner tools and supplies and mom Lisa Whitacre helping with the food for the troops.