A small sign, outside Cornwall United Methodist Church, boasts the completion of Logan Soss’ Eagle Scout project. His efforts are worth praising. The project took 319 man hours to complete.
Soss’ project entailed refurbishing the five dividers inside the church’s social hall, as well as constructing a cabinet for the Sunday School class.
Soss explained his mother sits on the church board, which has discussed the need to repair the walls.
“My mom suggested contacting the church,” Soss said. “I ended up talking with the pastor, as well as the preschool teacher and they both said they’d like to have the dividers redone. The Sunday School class was looking to get a new cabinet space for their materials.”
Soss said he spent about 15 hours speaking to more than two dozen people as he formulated plans for his project. Among those people was a contractor, who explained what kind of primer and sanding materials to use, and provided advice on building a cabinet.
The project was approved, by the Hudson Valley Council, on June 15 and work began July 7. Soss and 30 volunteers, made up of friends, immediate family, and fellow Scouts, worked about three hours on Wednesdays and Fridays and about five hours on Saturdays. The final week included a Sunday session. The project was completed on Aug. 4
The project entailed sanding, priming, and re-painting the dividers and edging. Two of the dividers had three by three inch sized punch holes which needed to be patched. The dividers were painted periwinkle to match the color in the sanctuary.
For the cabinet, Soss was lucky enough to have scrap wood donated. Screws had to be removed from the wood before it could be sanded, cut, interlocked together, and finally painted the same color as the dividers.
Soss’ original plans called for the construction of a cabinet measuring eight by six feet with a depth of two feet; however, the size of the wood lent itself to a shelving unit that was smaller.
The project is sure to realize a lot of use. One divider serves as a backdrop during Sunday services. When closed, the social hall can provide five spaces for classes. The Sunday and preschool programs now have enough storage space to house their supplies.
Soss left for college on Aug 22 and while he was confident he’d finish his project before then, he was concerned about scheduling a meeting with the Boy Scout council to receive final approval and his Eagle. Soss was aiming for August, but instead he’ll finally receive his award during Thanksgiving break.
“I’m happy with the work we did and how it came out,” Soss said. “I’m very happy and pleased to finally make Eagle after 13 years of Scouting.”