The earning of Eagle rank by a scout is an accomplishment that many say is one of the most important achievements in the lives. Only about 5% of the boys who register as scouts will ultimately achieve the rank of Eagle. One of the Eagle requirements is to plan and carry out a substantial service project for a non-profit organization. Service projects are as varied as the scouts that complete them. The following list describes the legacy left by the Eagles of Troop 496. Each project has left its mark on the scouts, chartered organization and community! As you travel through your own community and others, you can often see small markers that designate different structures, trails, moveable closets, etc, etc are the work of an Eagle Scout. Some of those markers are from our very own troop!
1997 John Southwell
Joe was the first scout to earn his Eagle from Troop 496. He worked with the McKinney Committee on Aging to put house numbers on homes and curbs of elderly residents of McKinney. This allowed services such as Meals on Wheels and Fire/EMS services to locate the correct home when needed.
1999 Paul Tessitori
Paul worked to clear a nature trail behind Glen Oaks Elementary School. This allowed more visitors to be able to enjoy the trails and helped prevent erosion in parts of the trail.
1999 Brett Patterson
Brett worked with the Heard Museum. His project included trail maintenance that would allow visitors to be able to enjoy the trails and remove any hazardous debris or brush growth from the trails. He also installed markers along the trail drawn attention to points of interest.
2000 Robbie Carter
Robbie worked with Trinity Presbyterian Church for his project. He updated and provided maintenance for the playground on the church grounds.
2000 Allen Hueston
Allen completed his project with the Holy Family pre-school. He painted several of the classrooms at the pre-school. The facility has since moved to a new building.
2001 Cliff Aronson
Cliff’s project included improvements at McKinney Christian Academy. He painted markings for hop scotch and four square on a concrete play area. A large scale map of the United States was also painted. This helped the teachers with less set-up time and gave the students a readymade place for games.
2001 Casey Britt
Casey worked with the Heard Museum to make and install markers along the Blue Stem Trail at the Heard Museum. This allowed visitors to know which path to follow as they took this trail. It also called attention to specific land details that the visitors would see along the way.
2001 Adam Hines
Adam worked with the City of McKinney to clean one of the smaller cemeteries in McKinney. He chose a cemetery where several of his ancestors were buried.
2001 Bobby Pierce
Bobby worked with Trinity Presbyterian Church in order plan and construct a concrete pad behind the church to use as a parking area for the troop trailer. As a trivia side note…..Troop 496 has had 2 trailers filled with equipment stolen. After the second time, the troop equipment was moved to a member’s land outside of McKinney. When that family left the troop, the equipment was moved to the current storage facility in Melissa.
2001 Sam Alexander
Sam’s project benefitted disadvantaged students at Vines High School. He built a wooden closet that was used to store shoes and belts for students in need. This allowed the school to have a central location to store donated items that could be of use to their students.
2001 Ethan Marr
Ethan worked with the Heard Museum for his project. He constructed a railing that separated the visitors from the Birds of Prey exhibit.
2001 Ricky Pierce
Ricky planned and carried out laying the concrete sidewalks that you see now at the Northeast corner of Trinity Presbyterian Church.
2002 Trent Patterson
Trent worked with the Heard Museum to complete his project. He worked on trail maintenance including working to prevent further erosion and removing debris and brush from the trails to make them easier for visitors to enjoy.
2003 David Frizzell
David worked with the Heard Museum to complete his project. He constructed a 5’x8’ boardwalk in the wetlands area of the Heard Museum trails.
2003 Lee Wilson
Lee worked on trail maintenance at the Heard Museum to complete his project. He cleared overgrown brush from the trail and helped lay larger rocks on the edges of the trails to prevent erosion from the weather.
2004 Ben Silverglat
Ben’s project was completed at the Heard Museum. He worked on trail maintenance including clearing brush and debris from the trails. This would allow visitors to enjoy the trails without any hazardous obstructions.
2004 Ben Alexander
Ben’s project consisted of repainting the white parking striped and the blue handicap signs on Trinity Presbyterian Church’s east parking lot.
2005 Aaron Miers
Aaron’s project was located at Chestnut Square off of downtown McKinney. His project was to lay several brick walkways in the area to help beautify the area.
2005 Arlo Tippit
Arlo built a mobile puppet stage that the theater department at McKinney High School used to put on educational puppets shows at local elementary schools and daycares.
2005 Thomas Guest
Thomas worked to collect small tools for home repairs and gardening. Once the tools were collected, he took them with him on a mission trip to Mexico. Upon departing to return home, the tools were left with the community so that they could continue to make the advancements on their own.
2005 Tim Marnick
Tim completed his project at Chestnut Square. He worked on repairing and replacing brick walkways in the area so that it would be a nicer, safer place for people to visit.
2007 Cody Hickman
Cody worked with McKinney Christian Academy to complete his project. He created plant beds and planted flowers at the entrance of McKinney Christian Academy.
2007 Andrew Blacklock
Andrew completed his project prior to joining Troop 496. He made and installed a trail marker and a gazebo at the head of a trail for a park in South Texas where the family lived at the time.
2007 Ryan Gaughan
Ryan worked with Carter Blood Care Center to arrange a community blood drive.
2007 Mark Alexander
Mark worked with Trinity Presbyterian Church for his project. He laid the brick patio that is still located on the southeast corner of the church.
2008 Travis Branch
Travis worked with Trinity Presbyterian Church to complete his project. He made and installed the two blue benches located on the brick patio near the church’s main office.
2008 Trevor Kitt
Trevor worked with the McKinney Parks and Recreation Department to complete his project. He built 2 separate sections of wooden boardwalks on the nature trails that are located between the McKinney Community Center and Towne Lake.
2009 Nolan Bushnell
Nolan’s project benefitted the Samaritan Inn Homeless Shelter in McKinney. Nolan planned and constructed several garden areas on the grounds of the shelter. This would allow the families at the shelter to grow herbs and vegetables to help with meals at the shelter. This would also give them an activity where they could contribute to the program.
2010 Kyle Brannon
Kyle worked with the Fairhill School, where he attended classes, to complete his project. Kyle constructed a nature trail behind the school. His projected consisted of clearing the brush and debris to make the trail accessible to the students.
2010 Owen Meachum
Owen worked with Valley Creek Elementary School to complete his project. Owen built step stools that would allow the younger children to be able to reach the white boards in the classrooms.
2011 Mark Blacklock
Mark completed his project as his church, First Presbyterian Church of McKinney. Mark constructed a concrete patio on the side lawn of the church. He then bricked 2 grills in the center of the patio. This, in addition to his twin brother’s project, gave the church members a place to have outdoor activities.
2011 Aaron Blacklock
Aaron completed his project at his church, First Presbyterian Church of McKinney. He built a wooden arbor over the concrete patio and bricked grills on the side lawn of the church. This, in addition to his twin bother’s project, gave the church members a place to have outdoor activities.
2012 Chris Montgomery
Chris worked with St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church for his project. Chris planned a way to organize the church basement where they stored their decorations, props, supplies, etc. He built a shelving system to help give more room for storage and to make the area more organized.
2013 Hollis Meachum
Hollis worked with Valley Creek Elementary School for his project. He constructed a 12×12 pavestone patio and 3 octagon shaped tables in a shaded area by the school. This area can now be used as an outdoor classroom.
2013 John Kehn
2013 Sean Meyer
2013 James Griffin
2013 Jacob Filiatrault
2013 Nicholas Sigler
2013 Anthony Neis
2013 Andy Boese
2013 Eli Jay
2013 Sean Reynolds
2014 Fred Zavala
2014 Luke Moraglia
2014 Andrew Freeman
2015 John Ragsdale
2015 Neil Meyer
2015 Mark Ragsdale
2015 Corey Crawford
2016 Max Goffstein
2016 William Smith
2016 Malachi (Trey) Chandler
2016 Colin Stahl
2016 Brian O’Connor
2016 Sam Boese
2016 Rowan Fraser