Two MBHS juniors complete community projects, earn Eagle Scout rank

Pierce Austin and William Graham Jr., students at Mountain Brook High School, were officially recognized as Eagle Scouts during an Eagle Court of Honor ceremony held in November.

Austin and Graham are part of Troop 63 at Canterbury United Methodist Church.

Collectively, these two new Eagle Scouts earned 51 merit badges and camped 65 nights on the way to earning scouting’s highest award, and both boys were previously inducted into the Order of the Arrow.

Pierce Austin, the son of Keith and Beth Austin, chose to build a deck with stairs at Cherokee Bend Elementary School for his Eagle project. The beneficiary was the Fair Oaks Adventure Curriculum, led by Rick Hedrick, and all future CBE students.

Austin wanted to give back to the FOAC program.

“Growing up attending Cherokee Bend, I always knew that when the time came for my Eagle project, I would do a project for them,” he said.

One of the primary requirements to obtain Eagle status is to develop a community volunteer project and lead a team of individuals through its completion, Austin said.

His project involved detailed planning, construction drawings and design for a 10-foot high deck and attached stairs that now provides a safer experience for the famed FOAC climbing wall.

With much hard work and help from family, friends and fellow scouts, Austin finished the construction.

“I learned a great deal from this project and how you have to be prepared to deal with obstacles and unforeseen challenges,” he said. “The main thing I learned is how to lead individuals through challenges.”

“Scouting offers countless opportunities to learn and lead and now, looking back, I appreciate scouting even more,” he said.

Austin is a junior at MBHS and is considering a career in medicine.

For his Eagle project, William Graham Jr., the son of Will and Christi Graham, built a paver walkway, constructed and painted a wooden sign and installed landscaping for Woodlawn Community Table.

Woodlawn Community Table is a nonprofit food cooperative that helps the food insecure in the Woodlawn community, and its participants are the beneficiaries of Graham’s project.

“I chose Woodlawn Community Table because a long-time family friend, Rev. Emily Freeman Penfield, is the pastor of Woodlawn United Methodist Church and the chair of Woodlawn Community Table,” Graham said. “I asked what I could do to best contribute to the program and it went from there.”

The project involved detailed planning and design for both the 61-foot paver walkway to connect Woodlawn United Methodist Church to the co-op building and the sign.

Graham led a crew of friends, family and fellow scouts over two weekends to complete the construction of the walkway and installation of the sign and landscaping. The walkway provides easier access to the co-op building for workers who transport goods from the church, and the sign and landscaping make the co-op building more identifiable and inviting for co-op participants.

He is a junior at MBHS and is considering a career in engineering or business.

“I wanted to be an Eagle Scout because I always heard that Eagle Scouts are leaders and men that people can depend on,” Graham said. “I knew I could achieve Eagle Scout through hard work and leadership.”

“Achieving Eagle Scout is a huge honor, and the skills I learned and developed are ones I will use for the rest of my life,” he said.

The Troop 63 scoutmaster is Troy Carmichael, and the assistant scoutmaster and troop liaison to Canterbury UMC is David Fowler.

Submitted by the Austin and Graham families; the story was edited by Village Living.