Tristan Wartell is soaring his way to become an Eagle for Scout Troop 42
Wartell has been in scouts for eight years and has always dreamed of getting his Eagle. The Eagle Scout Badge is the highest achievement attainable in Scouts. In order to receive the eagle badge, each scout member has to communicate with an organization to help build or remodel a project for them. Each Scout receives a project coach who leads them in the right direction for the project. Once the Scout finishes the project they get to write a report and present it to the troop.
Back in summer 2019, Wartell contacted Chuck Jones from Roots of Motive Power to see if he could remodel the ticket booth for the museum. Wartell said he has always been fascinated with Roots of Motive Power and wanted to dedicate his project to remodel their space.
As Wartell was about to start the remodel the coronavirus pandemic hit and postponed his timeline till June 2020. “The pandemic is already hard to go through, but having to deal with that on top of this project was definitely a challenge,” said Wartell.
For the project, Wartell had help from his Scout Troop 42, Professional Painter Blair Roland, and his project coaches Robert Ford and Ken Pedersen. Jones and Roots of Motive Power provided the supplies needed for the project.
The project took approximately seven days to complete, with five to six hours of work each day. Throughout the scorching summer heat, Wartell and his team still continued to wear masks and social distance as they worked to remodel the ticket booth. The project resulted in remodeling the stairs, restoring the railing and the deck, adding handles to the window covers to make them more accessible, installing a brand new ramp so that it was wheelchair accessible, and painting the whole building.
Wartell said he would like to thank everyone who helped him in this project including his mom and dad for always supporting him and pushing him to do his best. “Without everyone else’s support I don’t know if I would have been able to finish this project,” said Wartell.
Now that the physical part of the project is finished, Wartell is writing up his report to receive his eagle. “I hope to one day inspire younger scouts to complete their eagle,” he said. “Nothing is impossible to finish, even if a global pandemic storms through the country.”