Eagles Soar

Once or twice a year, I am contacted by Boy Scouts who are looking for a project to complete their work for the Eagle Scout ranking.  Sometimes there are cemeteries to clean, headstones to set or weeds and tumbleweeds to be removed.  This year brought me Logan Pickett, a young man eager to complete his service project and move forward to Eagle Scout.  He wanted to tackle a cemetery because he saw the importance of Tombstone Transcription.  Luckily I had a cemetery in Rio Rancho that needed to be re-walked and it would be perfect for his project.

Logan is a senior at Cibola High School, the son of Glen and Linda Pickett.  He has been a Boy Scout for five years but always wanted to be an Eagle Scout.  This was his final step.

We met several times as I explained and laid out the project.  He organized everyone that would need to work with him and we had a training meeting on Wednesday, August 25.  There were about 25 people who attended and quickly caught on to the process.  We went directly to Vista Verde Cemetery after the training and started work.  Even my grandson, Gregory - also a Boy Scout - came to help.  Logan did an excellent job in pairing people up and getting them into the correct sections.  It was a hot evening but all the scouts, parents and volunteers worked for two plus hours without complaint. 

About 2/3 of the needed re-walk was completed Wednesday night and Logan and a few other scouts returned on Thursday after school and finished.  Then Logan took all the papers and notebooks home to organize the information.  By September 15 he was ready to begin the computer entry part of the project.  After a brief training on databases, he was on his way to finishing up.  On September 28 Logan submitted the final database with all the changes to data and additions with new names and dates.

Logan did an excellent job in completing this project.  It took dedication and perseverance to handle all the data, papers, people and questions.  He had to stay organized and focused, which he did quite well!  Everyone I met in regards to this project was energetic and eager to help.  There were never any complaints or hesitation to jumping in and helping. 

Thank you Logan, your parents and your scout leader, for taking on this project, which ultimately helps everyone around the world searching for a relative.  You have done a terrific job and I am honored to have helped you.