West Leisenring teen earns Eagle Scout rank
Samuel S. Williams IV of West Leisenring has earned the Boy Scouts of America's highest rank of Eagle Scout.
A Scout in Old Trails District Troop 682 at the Amvets Post 103 in Hopwood, Williams joins the ranks of fewer than 3 percent of those who start out in Boy Scouts.
His project benefited the Community Action Education Center located in the Connellsville Community Center, the site of the former Connellsville Junior-Senior High School.
The center is a nonprofit organization offering free basic skills and General Educational Development diploma preparation classes for adults.
Williams is the son of Kenneth Williams of Connellsville and Carol Smitley Williams of West Leisenring. He attends Christ Church Anglican in Brownsville, where he served as acolyte for two years.
Williams is active in the Pittsburgh Episcopal Happening ministry, having served on the youth staff for "Happening" weekends over the past three years. The "Happening" occurs twice each year and requires attendance planning sessions.
Williams started in Scouting in 1999 as a Cub Scout in Pack 623 at St. Mary Church in Uniontown. He entered the Boy Scouting program as a Scout in Troop 690 at the Valley Sportsman's Club in Oliver Three.
When his uncle, Chuck Smitley of Oliver Three, made the decision to rejoin the troop where he had become an Eagle Scout in 1989, Sam transferred to Troop 682 at the Amvets Post 103 in Hopwood. He was voted into membership in the Order of the Arrow in 2007.
Williams' Eagle Scout project replaced the aging and worn blackboards in two classrooms with new whiteboards. Williams also built and mounted three new bulletin boards. Portable, individual whiteboards were created for students.
Sue Wagner, project manager at the center, said that the students were very excited with the new resources in the classroom.
"I think it is fitting that our classroom be the site of an Eagle Scout project," Wagner said. "It will always remind us that volunteering in the community and giving back to help others is why we are here on Earth. Our students can learn to appreciate that even one person can make a profound impact on others with hard work and a generous heart."
Williams' project required calculation and planning, the procurement of funding and donations, and the construction, transportation and assembly of all the display boards.
Williams received his Boy Scout Eagle badge at his Eagle Court of Honor on Nov. 7 at the Amvets General Marshall Post 103 in Hopwood.
Williams, 18, is a PA Cyber Charter School senior and will graduate in June. He has an avid interest in history and enjoys hunting and gaming. He plans to attend college with an interest in becoming a physical therapist.
