Braydon Burkhardt, a Scout in Troop 730 in Morgan Hill, recently completed his Eagle Scout service project by building and placing two U.S. Flag retirement collection boxes in Morgan Hill.
The boxes are located at the Morgan Hill Masonic Center, 380 West Dunne Ave., and at the Coldwell Banker office at 950 Tennant Station.
When considering a project for completing his Eagle requirements, Burkhardt wanted to do something that would have a long-term impact on his community, according to a press release from Boy Scouts of America Silicon Valley.
He noticed that, although Scout Troops and the American Foreign Legion conduct dignified ceremonies to honorably retire worn out American flags, there was no conduit for the community to get the flags to these organizations. He decided to install two public depositories that were secure, accessible and easy to use.
Burkhardt funded the project and purchased the boxes, reads a release from the South Valley Masonic Lodge, which is based at the Morgan Hill Masonic Center. He painted them and installed appropriate signage. He worked with potential hosts and selected The Coldwell Banker residential brokerage offices and the Morgan Hill Masonic Center as the box sites.
Burkhardt installed the boxes and turned over the keys to the Masons to manage the collections in perpetuity on Flag Day, June 14. Lodge officer Brett Welch accepted the keys in a small Covid-19 compliant ceremony.
Flags collected in the drop boxes will be distributed to Cub Scout and Boy Scout troops, as well as to the American Legion, to be appropriately honored and retired in accordance with the U.S. Flag Code.
Burkhardt said that the Covid-19 pandemic had an impact on his project, the BSA press release adds. For most Eagle Scouts, once their project is planned and ready to be executed, fellow Scouts and other community volunteers show up to support the public service effort.
However, with shelter-in-place requirements, Burkhardt was only able to have one or two Scouts at a time help him with the collection boxes. He also encountered some material shortages. With the help of other Scouts and his dad, the two boxes were completed and placed within about 10 days. The project was completed on June 14.
Burkhardt is a 2020 graduate of Sobrato High School. He expressed his appreciation to the community of Morgan Hill for the support received by all graduating seniors this year in their “virtual” commencement ceremonies, according to BSA.
Burkhardt plans to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the fall, and major in electrical engineering.
