Andrew Hurst, 18, son of Brenda and Charles Hurst of Chesterton, Ind., has
earned the highest award the Boy Scouts of America offers to Scouts, the
Eagle Scout Award.
Hurst is a member of Boy Scout Troop 998, sponsored by St. Patrick Church,
under the direction of Scoutmaster Charles Olson. His Eagle Scout Court of
Honor was held November 3, 2013, at the Coffee Creek Watershed Pavilion with
family, friends, and his fellow Scouting community.
Hurst joins an elite group of young men who have achieved the Eagle rank,
earning at least 21 merit badges, holding leadership positions within the
troop, participating in service projects, and completing an Eagle Scout
community service project. Hurst served as Troop 998’s Senior Patrol Leader
in 2012 and 2013.
A senior at Chesterton High School, Hurst is a member of the varsity swim
team and serves as co-captain. He is also a member of the National Honor
Society, Natural Helpers Program, and Japanese Club. In addition to
Scouting, outside of school he volunteers as a swim coach for Porter County
Special Olympics. He plans to study biology with a minor in Japanese in
college.
Hurst’s project was planning, organizing, and managing the construction and
installation of eight mile marker posts (mile and half-mile) for 3.1 miles
along Chesterton’s section of the Prairie Duneland Trail, starting with a
“zero” marker at its east end point on 15th Street. The project, planned
over several months with the assistance of Parks Department Superintendent
Bruce Mathias and his staff, was completed over two work weekends for
manufacturing and installing the posts.
Many Scout members and parents of Troop 998 assisted Hurst with the work
weekends to create the posts and transport heavy equipment and supplies,
much by foot, over the six mile round trip span to complete the
installation.
As a Scout and athlete, Hurst saw the project as a way to improve the
trail’s features for the community’s casual walkers, joggers, and
cyclists--giving them a simple way to mark a 10K distance and encourage use
of the trail for physical fitness year-round.