By Sarah Judd
Logan Hansen (second from left) and a crew donate time on a cold morning to install fencing around the modified softball field in Alamo.
The town of Alamo received some much-needed help through an Eagle Project by Logan Hansen, 15, of Alamo, Nevada.
The town board had approved shortening the softball field in order to increase the size of the retention basin, helping it to better handle drainage from big storms. Hansen volunteered to install the new fence around the shortened softball field as his Eagle Project.
When considering what he wanted to do for a project, Hansen explained, ?I knew there were a bunch of projects of building fences that were getting done up at the LDS church ranch, so I chose to build the fence for the softball field instead. My teacher and coach, Mike Sparrow, told me about the project.?
Hansen expressed excitement that he could do something to benefit his town.
?I can drive by the softball field and know I put that fence up and that that was my eagle project,? he said.
Since the Alamo Town Board had already approved funding for the materials needed, Hansen used those resources for his project, which included the chain-link fencing along with cement which was purchased through Frehner Construction. After that, Hansen needed volunteers to help carry out the work. The volunteers heard about the project through basketball practice or texts. In all, 18 people, including Hansen?s father, helped install the new fence. Most volunteers were fellow Scouts along with some other classmates and adults.
The bulk of the work happened on Jan. 21. They started at 10 a.m. and went until noon. Hansen recounted, ?On the day we did most of the work, I was surprised there were so many people that showed up to help. It was the same day as the power outage and it had snowed the night before. The weather was really cold. I am so glad so many helpers came. My favorite part of this project was getting it done. After everyone went home on the 21st, I just saw how much they had gotten done and it was practically finished at that point. That made me smile and feel proud of myself.?
Hansen and his dad spent a couple hours on other days working to finish the project up. Hansen admitted, ?The hardest part of my project was going out with my dad at night when it was cold. The rain had started up and it was dark and just the two of us. We were putting up one of the fences and it kept on coming loose and falling over.?
David Hansen, Logan?s dad, expressed, ?It was a lot of work. I am proud of him for taking on the responsibility and seeing the whole thing through.?
Logan exclaimed, ?I felt relieved that it was all done! It was a lot of work. We are still not completely done yet. There still is a yellow top rail that needs to be along the fence. Thus far, there have been more than one hundred twenty volunteered hours, total, that will have gone into this project. Eighteen were just by me so far.?
Sparrow commented, ?I have been extremely pleased with his energy and leadership. He has shown that he cares about a job well done.?
Logan added, ?I?d like to thank my dad. He is the one that would come down to the field and help me with all of the different aspects of this project. I?d also like to thank Mr. Sparrow for being my coach in all of this and helping me along the way. I?d also like to thank everyone who came and helped out with my project. It was greatly appreciated.?
Once the yellow rail is installed, Hansen will write a report and fill out all of the necessary paperwork to submit for his Eagle Board of Review.