Journey to Eagle Scout benefits Clearbrook

On the journey to Eagle Scout a local Boy Scout employed the help of over 30 volunteers to give a Clearbrook facility a renovated outdoor area.

Zachary Hittie, a Life Scout and an Assistant Senior Patrol Leader with Mount Prospect BSA Troop 23, completed his Eagle Scout project benefiting a Clearbrook facility in Arlington Heights in October.

There is a lot of work leading up to an Eagle Scout project. The scout has to exhibit skills in many areas including communication and planning before he is even ready to begin. There are also many people involved: scouts, volunteers and the project benefactor. Once all these people come together, the Eagle project can finally begin.

“For my Eagle Scout project,” Zachary said, “I reached out to Clearbrook because it is a good organization to help and they were happy to work with me.” He contacted Ms. Kathy Scheuing, the Volunteer Coordinator of Clearbrook, and she put him in contact with Mr. Dave Boggs, the Director of Community Living Services. “I was fortunate enough to work with Mr. Boggs and we came up with a project benefiting one of the residential facilities. Mr. Dan Colic, the manager of the facility, and I also worked together finalizing some of the details.”

The project consisted of fixing the fence, repairing and staining a large screened in deck, and landscaping the outdoor area. The landscaping included fixing a stone border, planting over 30 perennials, and mulching the area with 15 bags of wood chips collected from the Village's mulch site.

“Although the project is for my own advancement, it is not a task that I could have achieved alone,” noted Zachary. In addition to his family, there were 28 scouts and adult volunteers from Troop 23 of Mount Prospect helping over a four day period. With over 115 volunteer hours logged, the project was successfully completed, and as stated by Mr. Dave Boggs, “The individuals that live at the facility are extremely excited about the work that you and the scouts from your troop completed.”

The Eagle Scout is the highest rank a Boy Scout can achieve. “Working with Clearbrook on my Eagle Project has been a very rewarding experience,” Zachary said, “but there are still a few steps remaining, such as finalizing the write-up and submitting it for the review and approval process before I become an Eagle Scout. Even though the project is complete, my journey to Eagle Scout continues.”