Serving At The Crossroads

Daring to be Different - Scout Earns Eagle Award
Clinic and La Entrada benefit

Pick up the newspaper any day of the week and sooner or later you will read about the trials and tribulations of youth, many of which are captured in attention grabbing headline news stories – they are neither flattering nor praiseworthy. But a high school sophomore from Virginia has captured our attention and his actions are deserving of the largest headline we can print. He is a role model who has demonstrated the true meaning of the Power of One – the ability of a single individual, through passion and commitment to a cause, to mobilize others to assist him in a transformative project that will have significant impact on the lives of others. Bryan Hess, a teenager living in Burke, VA was looking for an Eagle Scout project that was not just a “ho-hum” undertaking. He “wanted to do something different and challenging - something that would make a difference somewhere in the world.” Well, Honduras was the place where Bryan definitely will be recognized as a guardian angel by the community of La Entrada.

Brian, has an engaging personality and he is not easily dissuaded by the difficulty of the task at hand. Having discussed his ideas with his parents, he proceeded to formalize his ideas by developing a business plan which he submitted to his troop leader and scouting advisors. As soon as SATC was made aware of his intentions, “we got excited too,” said Mike Tysowsky, Board Chairman. “It was obvious that he wanted a project that would make a lasting impression in the community where caring would mean saving lives.”

For his Eagle Scout Project, Brian planned and organized a drive to collect over-the- counter medications for the Manos Amigas medical clinic in La Entrada. He led over 70 volunteers, representing 10 different troops from the area, in a two-day collection effort at Wal-Mart, Giant and Safeway food stores in Burke, VA. The drive which resulted in the collection of 2,569 items of over-the-counter medications, emptied the shelves in one or two of the local pharmacies and also netted $1,145 in cash contributions for the purchase of antibiotics. Brian had his marketing plan well thought out in advance and he trained his fellow scouts in how to do a 15 second presentation to shoppers using a descriptive pictorial flyer which included a list of useful medications. It took 300 man hours to complete this project. The arrival of this medicine put smiles on the faces of the people who worked at the clinic as they knew this shipment would have a profound impact on the lives of many people in the community. After the medicine arrived in La Entrada, Brian made a trip to Honduras to see first hand how his efforts were making a difference in the lives of those less fortunate.