ASHLAND — Reed Poorman was the only one in Boy Scout Troop No. 214 to become an Eagle Scout this year.
The 12-year Scout said completing an Eagle Scout project completes a long and difficult challenge.
According to the Boy Scouts of America website, to earn the honor, a Scout must receive 21 badges — including 14 merit badges — and complete a service project in the community. All the paperwork for it has to be complete before the Scout turns 18.
Poorman, an 18-year-old who attends Ashland County-West Holmes Career Center, got his paperwork in and the project approved just in time.
His project: Building two sets of benches to stand at the playgrounds in Ashland’s Brookside West Park.
“I saw a picture on social media and thought it was a cool idea,” Poorman said.
Before Poorman’s project, parents, baseball game attendees and citizens had nowhere to sit in the park.
Building the benches
During the summer, Poorman and his friends met in his family’s garage to build the benches. Usually, the space is reserved for Poorman and his friends to work on their trucks, but all that got moved out as the Scouts worked on the benches.
The bench project wasn’t Poorman’s first time working in construction. He’d helped his dad, Dave Poorman, on house remodels in the past.
Still, Dave said the Eagle Scout project was all on his son’s initiative.
Reed reached out to Ashland City Parks Director Jason Counts and received permission to do the project.
Then, Reed collected donations of wood — mostly 2x4s — from Hixwood, located in Mansfield. He said he received help with his questions from the local business in addition to donations.
Interestingly, the building process brought the troop together. The boys listened to music and watched videos on Youtube as they built the benches.
They were installed at the end of August and cemented into the ground. Reed and Dave said they hope to put plaques on the benches too, pointing out they were installed as part of an Eagle Scout project.
Scout’s honor
Finishing the project, though, is only part of what being a Scout has offered Reed.
During his 12 years in the program, he walked away with valuable skills of leadership and how to bring a group of people together.
For his dad, Dave, seeing his son receive the honor makes him remember his own time as a Scout. He said many people drop out right at the end, when the service project is all they have left.
Dave didn’t ever make Eagle Scout, but said supporting his son in that endeavor was meaningful.
“I couldn’t finish,” Dave said. “Just ran out of time. He just got it done. It cost us some pizzas, and he got it done.”
Now, Reed is working to finish up his senior year at the Career Center and looking toward welding jobs for the future. But through the Scouts, he’s left something behind for Ashland.
“It means everything,” Reed said.
