(As published by Source Newspapers (Macomb) on April 14)
Utica United Methodist Church parishioners have a place to store donated items thanks to the efforts of a Sterling Heights teen.
Ted Simmons, 19, painted an 8-by-10-foot room eggshell white and then added 10 industrial-strength shelving units. The room is used to store various canned and boxed food products collected by the church and then donated to charity. Not only did Simmons work on the weeklong project, but he also led a team of approximately 30 volunteers.
"It looked beautiful," Simmons said of the room, which was completed in October 2009. "Now the room is stuffed and they use it as a warehouse."
Simmons raised $500 through a bottle drive prior to the project. His grandparents, Yvonne and Walter Fruit of Sterling Heights, also donated. Simmons used the funds to purchase all of the supplies for the project.
His family belongs to the Sterling Heights church, which is why he decided to complete the project. He added that the room needed a makeover prior to his intervention.
The service project earned Simmons the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank attainable by the Boy Scouts of America. A special ceremony for Simmons took place in May of last year.
Earning Eagle Scout is no small achievement. The honor is a performance-based achievement and only approximately 5 percent of all Boy Scouts earn the rank. Among other things, Eagle Scouts must earn at least 21 merit badges, be active in their troop, and complete a substantial service project that requires the scout to plan, organize, lead and manage a task. The Eagle Scout honor is for life, thus the phrase, "Once an Eagle, always an Eagle."
"Eagle Scout is a very hard rank to earn and it shows strong dedication," Simmons said.
Simmons has been active in scouting since he joined the Cub Scouts in third grade at Dresden Elementary School. He continued scouting by becoming part of Boy Scout Troop 80 in fifth grade and kept active through high school; he graduated from Henry Ford II High School in 2009. Simmons is now studying biology at Macomb Community College.
Scouting has helped Simmons in many ways as a student and a citizen, he said. He added that he's proud of the Eagle Scout rank, which will undoubtedly look good on a resume when he's ready to job search. "Scouting has opened up a lot of new ideas for me and gave me a lot of help with some things. I've learned a lot about camping and the outdoors, and how to be a leader," he said.
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