Quinn...The Eagle Scout

Couldn't resist linking up to Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday link party.  After all the Letter of the Week is Q! (doesn't that remind you of Sesame Street? I loved that show) And while some may have a hard time with it, one of my favorite subjects begins with "Q".

QUINN

My 14 year old son.  He rocks!  He did his Eagle Scout Project almost a year ago, but we had some difficulties with the paperwork getting lost on it's way to the National Council, and it took a while to finally come through.  But it's all done now, it's official, and he is an Eagle Scout-signed, sealed, and delivered!

He knew what he wanted to do from the moment he was eligible to work on it.  To his credit he never backed down, no matter how much I tried to point him in other directions.  I had never seen a project like this, and wasn't sure how to help him.  I wanted him to do something easier, something I knew we could pull off without a hitch.  He was determined, and would not be deterred.  So with trepidation, we rolled up our sleeves and went to work.
For his project he raised funds to purchase rice, he gathered donations from businesses and people, in both money and supplies.  He then purchased almost 1500 pounds of rice and arranged to have it packaged and delivered to the local food bank.


He organized people to gather and work at the Humanitarian section of the Cannery in our area which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Food in this area is not canned it is packaged for local use and is strictly for humanitarian food donations.  He worked all morning instructing and directing the volunteers, and then he and his Dad, along with other volunteers delivered all the food to the Food Bank.  In conjunction with this project he also ran a canned food drive, which brought in an additional 300 pounds of food.  For the final portion of his project he brought his Scout Troop down to the Food Bank, where they worked on sorting all the donated food, throwing out expired donations (that appalled them-who gives rotten food to needy people? they wanted to know), and organizing food into meal packages to give out to customers of the Food Bank.  When all was said and done he was told he had provided over 6,000 servings of food for those in need.


He was so happy, he did it!  Despite all my worries and nagging about possible problems, he made it work.  We are so thrilled he stuck to his guns and didn't let us talk him out of this project.  He was passionate about helping donate food to those in our community, and he made it work.  Even the District Eagle Scout Advisor tried to talk him out of the project, saying there was no way he could get enough service hours (you need a minimum of 100 hours of service-he got almost double that).


That's our Quinn, determined, steadfast, and immovable.  He knows what he wants to do, and he's willing to make it happen.  Now, it did take some poking, prodding, and a few kick in the pants from Mom & Dad, but that was mostly on the paperwork, and I don't fault him--too much--for that.  Even I don't like to do paperwork.  And the phone calls to strange adults, that was like pulling teeth for him.  I can't count the number of times he said "Mom, can't  you do it?"  Nope, your project-your phone calls.  And he did it!!!


Congratulations Quinn, You Rock!  You are strong, determined, have a heart of gold, love to tease your siblings and get everyone riled up, you love sports and thrive on competition, but most of all you are good.  Down to the core, right where it counts, you are a good person.  We are so blessed to have you as a part of our family! We love you!!  Did I mention you rock?