We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
Kyler, Kaylan and Lincy Johnson were part of a group that sanded and repainted the playground equipment at Zurich Park. Kyler planned and directed the work as a part of his Eagle Scout Project. Dale Gilmore, who does maintenance at the park, is pictured in the background.
Kyler Johnson. Kyler Johnson plans to receive his Eagle Scout rank later this year. He completed his Eagle project, last fall, refurbishing the playground equipment at Zurich Park. Johnson is the son of Ernie and Leanna Johnson of the Paradise Valley area. Kyler has two older brothers who also achieved the Eagle Scout milestone.
Kyler Johnson will soon complete the requirements to become an Eagle Scout. The rank of Eagle Scout, in the Boy Scouts, is the culmination of a boy’s career in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). The 17 year old Chinook High junior said, “About all that is left to do is to complete the paperwork and appear before the Eagle review board. My requirements are completed and the Eagle Scout project is done.” The official awarding will happen later this year.
The road to Eagle Scout
Asked to describe the process to achieve the Eagle Scout award, Johnson gave a brief “Boy Scouts 101.” He explained, “I started as a Boy Scout when I was 11 years old. The first rank is Tenderfoot, that’s where everyone begins.” Scouts advance through ranks that have requirements from mastering Scouting’s written materials to completing various physical activities and service projects. From Tenderfoot Scouts work through the requirements for Second Class, First Class and Star Scout.
Johnson said, “Once you reach Star Scout you begin working on merit badges. In addition to participating in regular Scouting activities and outdoor experiences, you have to earn merit badges to move on through the Eagle rank.” The BSA offers 100 merit badges, each with its own set of study and action requirements. Merit badge topics range from the longstanding badges involving camping and hiking to more recently added ones in robotics, game design, programming, and sustainability. To complete the Eagle rank a Boy Scout must earn 21 total merit badges, 13 of which are specifically required in the Eagle program.
Johnson’s Eagle Project at Zurich Park
In addition to completing the ranks leading to the Eagle Scout and the required merit badges, every candidate for Eagle Scout must complete a project. The Eagle project is designed to give a candidate experience in planning and executing a plan that benefits some non-profit sector of his community. He also gains managing skills as he must incorporate at least two other people in the project and direct their efforts as well.
Johnson decided to rehabilitate and “spruce up” the playground equipment at Zurich Park. His goal was to sand and repaint the play equipment in the park. He first approached Dale Gilmore, the park’s caretaker, who was enthusiastic about the idea. Johnson wrote a detailed plan about materials needed, scope of work and when and by whom the work would be done. He took the plan to the Blaine County Commissioners, who oversee the park, and they approved his idea. Then the plan had to be approved by the BSA’s Hi-Line Scout District. Johnson got all the approvals.
He needed a good many materials for the effort. He said, “Several building and hardware businesses in Harlem and Chinook stepped up and offered cleaning and painting supplies. The rest of the money for the project came from my family.”
To complete his project Johnson had to document at least 50 man hours, or boy hours in this case, expended during the effort for the cleaning and painting. Johnson said, “My troop had a campout at the park in mid-October. We did several regular activities during the campout and I got the entire troop involved in the cleaning and painting project. We spent the better part of two days completing the work on the playground equipment.” Given the current weather it will likely be a few months before kids can take advantage of the shiny, like-new looking equipment.
Why be an Eagle Scout?
Asked why he wanted to complete the Eagle Scout rank, Johnson offered several reasons. “First,” he said, “being an Eagle Scout is a family tradition. As a kid I watched my two older brothers achieve Eagle Scout and I wanted to do the same.” He also noted that being an Eagle Scout has other recognition—especially from future employers and colleges for admission purposes. He said some military organizations also award quicker rank advancement to Eagle Scouts.
Since the Eagle Scout program’s inception in 1912, only about two percent of Scouts complete the rank, though percentages of completion have been increasing since the early 2000’s. Over the 100+ years of the Eagle program, 2.25 million boys have achieved Scouting’s highest rank. Eagle Scouts have gone on to be U.S. Presidents (Gerald Ford), Supreme Court Justices (Stephen Breyer) and four Nobel Prize laureates achieved the rank.
Locally, Kyler Johnson’s Boy Scout troop, who call themselves “the free roaming buffaloes,” has produced an unusually large number of Eagle Scouts. He recalled, “In the last 15 years our troop has eight Eagle Scouts.” Johnson’s troop is chartered by the Chinook Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and troop members are often seen helping with local community events—from cleanup projects to the annual Chinook Community Chest canvass—in addition to pursuing their Scouting program.
Kyler is the son of Ernie and Leanna Johnson of the Paradise Valley area. His two older brothers who achieved the Eagle Scout rank, are Deven, now a medical doctor in the Air Force, and Kaylan, a student at Brigham Young University in Utah. The “Journal” congratulates Kyler for this great achievement.
