Boy Scout helps ambulance for Eagle project

Eagle Scouts are expected to me many things, the Boy Scout Law states that a scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful and “reverent to name a few. Yet, if you had to define Valin Heward, Plains' next Eagle Scout, unpretentious would probably fit best.

Heward, 17, completed his Eagle Scout project last week. He built shelving, two beds and a storage cabinet for the Plains Ambulance barn, home of the on-call and training facilities of local emergency medical technicians. The project took about three months to organize and complete with over a hundred man hours. But try to give him praise and you'll see it directed at project volunteers and to his family.

“I had a really good group that helped me do it,” Heward said, pointing first to his father Russell Heward, then to the volunteers in his troop, 1957, and finally to the businesses who sponsored the project. Gamble's Hardware, WBC Lumbar and their biggest contributor, Brinson's Building Supply, all helped donate supplies so the project could be accomplished.

Heward said he got the idea to help the ambulance barn from one of his high school teachers. When he asked the EMT facility what they might need they asked for storage compartments or beds to practice their training scenarios. Without hesitation, Heward decided to do both and began organizing.

Speaking nonchalantly, Heward looks at the project as something that he needed to do to help out. He doesn't see the project as an exception to the norm and pointed to his church youth group and Scoutmaster Larry Thompson, who regularly have activities based around service. “It's something I'm pretty much used to,” Heward said.

Despite his previous experience, Heward did say that this project had a few unexpected surprises. Painting the beds, cabinets and shelving was one of those surprises. He said it took the troop more time to paint the project than to actually build it. “I've got paint on every article of clothing I own,” Heward said and added that there was also a lot of wood chopping and cleaning that took a lot of time.

Out of all the volunteers outside of his family support, Heward said wanted to thank two boys in his troop who contributed a lot of time; Austin Thompson and Eddy Gordon, who on one day, worked for five hours straight. “They were the ones who helped me get it done the most” Heward said.

Some of the highlights of his experience include getting to drive with the technicians in the ambulances at 90 mph as they did training exercises. He also enjoyed the feeling of being able to help out the technicians and trainees. Because of Heward's beds, the technicians don't have to do their practice scenarios on the floor or sleep on the floor while on-call.

Heward will turn 18 in June and said that he'll remember a lot of things from his scouting experience, but especially, all the good times he had camping out in the winter and building snow caves. He said scouting and his Eagle Scout project have helped him to learn to stop procrastinating, when there's service or work to be done.

“It's been a good experience for Valin; it's been a good experience for our family,” said Russell. He also said that he believes that through scouting and the Eagle project his son was able to learn responsibility, and that there's more important things than just yourself.

“Scouting definitely holds you to a higher standard and expects you to accomplish it,” Russell said, and added that his family was proud of his son's achievements. “We're all very pleased and excited for him,” Russell said.

According to the Boy Scouts of America web Site only about five percent of the 900,000-plus Scouts ever achieve the BSA's highest rank of Eagle. While modesty is a virtue, this fact alone is something to take pride in.