By Dean Vaglia
Leader Staff Writer
Thomas Flickinger, a junior at Brandon High School in Ortonville and a Life Scout in Troop 139, is seeking donations for his Eagle Scout service project in Oxford.
Flickinger is getting ready to rebuild a planter box and sign posts around the Lake Villa MHC soccer field at Seymour Lake Township Park.
“I decided that I should go around checking the parks in my area,” Flickinger said. “I saw that this park had an old flower box. I got thinking ‘You know what, maybe I should repair that.’ I brought it up (to the Parks and Recreation) and they said ‘Yeah it can be repaired,’ so it will be helpful to the community and the park itself having it repaired and replaced.”
Construction of the planter box and posts is expected to begin sometime in late July or early August and estimated to take around two weekend days to complete. Flickinger, however, lacks all of the materials needed for the project and is accepting donations to help fill the gap.
“Donations can be small donations from can drives,” Flickinger said. “If (people) are willing to help with man-hours that could also be helpful. The material that is needed is timber, so we’ve been going around to Lowe’s and Home Depot to see if they have any ways to give us a donation via a small sales percentage off or a small amount of timber for the project.”
Parties interested in donating to the service project can contact Flickinger at 248-260-8633. The estimated cost of the project is $700 and anything that goes unused will be donated to Oxford Township Parks and Recreation.
Flickinger was inspired to join the Boy Scouts of America by seeing the opportunities the organization provided his brother, who is an Eagle Scout.
“I thought maybe if I become like him I can get the same opportunities that he has gotten,” Flickinger said. “What has kept me in the Boy Scout community is the amount of people that are out there (who are) willing to help you if you come across a problem, or that you can help people with the information you have gained over all the years in scouting.”
Aside from the service project, all Flickinger has left to do to earn the rank of Eagle Scout is completing two Eagle merit badges and the remainder of his Eagle Scout workbook.