New Eagle Scout

New Eagle Scout

Phillip Hampton’s Boy Scout Eagle project turned out to be a larger project than he first imagined. But he and Troop 395 were up to the task.

His plan was to clean out, paint and organize the American Red Cross container storing Red Cross emergency supplies and clean and wrap the cots. But Phillip and Red Cross District Manager Nancy Hall were unaware that the container had four holes in the roof through which 4 to 6 inches of water had accumulated and saturated all of the contents. Even though they had checked out the container previously they never imagined all the water because freezing conditions masked the damage.

On the first work day, Phillip, the troop volunteers and Hall stood ready to sort through and remove the contents from the container. As the door opened, the stench from black, moldy standing water, 150 saturated wool blankets, 134 saturated cots, multiple bags of stuffed animals and other miscellaneous wet items overwhelmed the volunteers. They rapidly filled up the Dumpster with heavy, saturated bags of wool blankets, stuffed animals, cardboard and much more. The cots were loaded onto a flatbed truck to be taken to Phillip’s shop for scrubbing. After the container was emptied, the doors were left open for over a week so it could dry out.

The next task was an all-day production line of power washing, detergent scrubbing and rinsing all the cots. The drying took many more days.

Phillip worked with a friend, Brad Bankston, to patch the holes in the roof. Then he located a donated roof sealer to completely seal the roof. The clean, wrapped cots line the new wooden shelves that keep all the contents off the floor and prevent any possibility of future water soaking.

The new, gray paint on the outside contrasts well with the project’s final touch — a large red cross prominently displayed on the side of the container.

The Red Cross now has a well-organized, clean, dry facility and is ready for any future disasters thanks to Phillip Hampton and BSA Troop 395.

Phillip became an Eagle Scout on Nov. 10.