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Eagle Scout honors mean many things to a Boy Scout – pride, relief, an avenue to possible scholarship opportunities and evidence of a job well done.

In the Hazelwood School District, 12 young men, six from Hazelwood Central High School and six from Hazelwood West High School, earned the Boy Scouts’ highest award this year.

To obtain his Eagle Scout rank, a Boy Scout must complete the requirements in leadership, services and outdoor skills. Twenty-one merit badges must be earned to qualify for Eagle Scout. Only five percent of Boy Scouts receive their Eagle Scout rank.

At Hazelwood Central, Carl Alcozer, Adam Dachroeden, Brian Folkerts, all from Troop 705, Eric Laurentius from Troop 244, Clayton Marolt, Troop 884 and Matt Rinehart, also in Troop 705, talked about their projects.

“I made 50 cup holders for veterans in wheelchairs,” said Rinehart, a senior. He referred to those veterans residing at the Missouri Veterans Home on Highway 367 in Bellefontaine Neighbors.

“Taking them there was the best experience because I got to see some of the expressions on their faces,” he said.

Classmate Alcozer contributed his time and efforts to a church, as many Eagle Scouts do. “I made two new crosses for St. Sabina Catholic Church, my church,” he said.

Sophomore Marolt’s project contained many details. “I painted a puppet room with a castle motif at the Southwest Church of the Nazarene. It took three years to plan and to paint. It started off as just a white room. I added knights, horses, the castle and more,” he said.

Laurentius, a senior, spent time in a garden for his project. “I made a cobblestone sidewalk that goes through a garden at St. Roses Catholic Church,” he said. “It’s 120 feet long.”

Dachroeden, a junior, said his project is for the birds, literally. “I made three bird-feeding stations at DeSmet Community Home on Parker Road.” Folkerts, a senior, made a contribution to his elementary school.

“I built three picnic tables for Lusher Elementary School, so they could have classes outside,” he said. At Hazelwood West High School, the list of Eagle Scout projects continued.

Bryce Woods, a freshman from Troop 939, constructed a retaining wall with edges at St. Andrew’s Church for two trees, some bushes and plants. Planning took a month followed by another month of actual work, he said.

Craig Standley, a senior from Troop 740, spent his time working in the athletic fields at Church of the Good Shepherd.

“I repaired the benches, the backstop and the ball field,” he said. He labored for about a month to get it done.

Brett Lesinski, a freshman from Troop 686, worked on a baseball diamond as well. “I built a bench for a baseball field in Nicolette Park in Dellwood,” he said. “It took two months to plan and a day to do.

“It feels amazing to get my Eagle Scout project done,” Lesinski said. “It’s so long and so many people come to this project. It’s the one thing that needs to be completed. It makes me feel really good to get it done.”

“It’s also a relief in a way because it’s finally finished off,” said Matt Stoner, a sophomore from Troop 705.

He completed his Eagle Scout project in Hazelwood’s Truman Park. “I rebuilt the handicapped fish deck at the lake there,” he said. “It took four days to build it but a month to plan it.”

Rice, a sophomore from Troop 740, did some work at the Kinloch Community Center, which took about a year-and-a-half to plan. “I restored the front of the building, painted shelves, mulched and I tape recorded 10 children’s stories.”

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