By Mary O’KEEFE

Communities, including Crescenta Valley and Glendale, have benefited for years from Boy Scout Eagle projects.

Cian Covington is proud to be a Crescenta Valley High School Falcon; so much so that he focused his Eagle Scout project on his high school by designing and creating three bike racks … Falcon Racks … using the school logo of a falcon and painting the racks the school’s colors of light and dark blue.

Covington was honored in a ceremony earlier this year by his Boy Scout Troop – Troop 319 – for his Eagle project. Many spoke of his ability to bring people together and his determination to learn.    

The official ribbon cutting at the school was on June 1 and the road to the ribbon cutting was long and filled with a lot of work from idea to design to implementation to (finally) the ribbon cutting. He began his project in 2022.

Covington said he first had to decide on what to do for his project. There are often many ideas suggested by Scout leaders for Eagle projects but Covington really wanted to do something that would not only last but also would benefit his school.

He spoke to the school administrators and came up with a plan to create two bike racks that would be located near the school’s MacDonald Auditorium. Once the project was decided upon it was time to get to work. Funds had to be raised, outreach done to the community and fellow Boy Scouts and organization members and Covington had to learn a new skill … welding.

He had the Falcon symbol made at a shop and followed every detail of how to do the project until the racks were finally bolted into place at the school.

CVHS Principal Christine Benitez praised Covington and the creation of his bike racks. In addition to the racks there is a plaque placed near the racks that reads, “These three bike racks were made in 2022 by Cian Covington (class of 2023) for his Eagle Scout project, and are a gift to the students of Crescenta Valley High School. BSA Troop 319, La Crescenta.”

Choosing the Eagle project checked all the boxes. Covington found a project that would benefit his community; he gathered fellow scouts to help; he worked with outside resources to finish the project and raised funds to complete it. A bonus for Covington was learning a life-changing skill.

“I love to weld and am going to [Glendale Community College] for welding,” said the recent CVHS graduate.

He had never welded or even thought of welding prior to doing his project; however, he has decided this was not only a skill he learned for the project but a career he wants for his future.

Completing an Eagle Scout project is not easy. It is normally done at the end of a Boy Scout’s term in the organization. The scout first has to create a proposal and it must be approved by the main council, in this case the Verdugo Hills Boy Scout Council, leaders of the scout’s troop and the beneficiary of the project. Once approved, the scout then follows a project plan, which will be reviewed at the end of the project. There is a fundraising component that includes contributions from family and friends as well as in-kind donations by companies. All of this information must be recorded as well.

The scout must be organized not only in fundraising but also in the organization of volunteers. Only about 6% of all Boy Scouts achieve the level of Eagle Scout.