Manlius resident Stefen Mina has known for a long time that he wanted to reach the status of Eagle Scout — and now his goal has become reality after spending countless hours working on a service project for which he created and installed new signs for Beard Park and Duguid Park in Fayetteville.
“When I was a Cub Scout, I would look at the projects the older Eagle Scouts had done and just knew that I wanted to do that someday,” said Mina, who just turned 18 and is about to begin his senior year at Fayetteville-Manlius High School. “I feel relieved that it’s all done because I spent so much time on it, but it also feels weird at the same time.”
Mina worked extensively with the Fayetteville Village Board and the village historian Barbara Rivette so he could design and install signage for Beard and Duguid parks in Fayetteville. Overall, Mina said he spent a few hundred hours on the Eagle Scout Service Project.
According to the Boy Scouts of America, the rank of Eagle Scout can be earned by a scout who has been a Life Scout for at least six months, has earned a minimum of 21 merit badges, has demonstrated Scout Spirit, has shown the ability to be a leader within his troop and carries out a service project. Only about 6 percent of Boy Scouts will achieve this award, according to ScoutingMagazine.org.
After working with Fayetteville Mayor Mark Olson and the village board to identify some service projects that were needed in the village, Mina decided on installing signs. He then worked with Rivette to learn of the history of the two parks to include in his sign designs, worked with Voss Signs to get them built and then went through the process of ensuring where he wanted to dig to install the signs was safe.
Mina is a member of Boy Scout Troop 51, but last fall moved from Virginia Beach, Va., to Fayetteville.
“I think the move actually positively impacted my project,” said Mina. “I got to become involved in the community and meet and work with a lot of people I may not have otherwise known … I take every move I make as a learning experience.”
The skills and lessons he has learned in boy scouts is something Mina feels will stick with him for a lifetime, and he encourages others to get involved.
“For me, the point of Boy Scouts was to gain confidence in myself,” said Mina. “I think Boy Scouts is a dying breed and many people may think it’s overrated. But what I’ve learned is something that will stay with me forever.”
Mina celebrated his Eagle Scout Court of Honor on Aug. 13 at the United Methodist Church of Fayetteville. For more information about the Boy Scouts of America, go so scouting.org.
