Veterans banners organized by Eagle Scout aspirant
HERMAN — Eagle Scout hopeful Garrett Kamerer is hoping some area veterans will be recognized soon for their contributions.
As part of his Eagle Scout application, he has been gathering names to make a series of “Hometown Heroes” banners that he hopes to have attached to utility poles around Herman in time for Memorial Day.
Kamerer, 17, a senior at Butler High School, has been working on the project since July, getting permission from Summit Township and West Penn Power, the owner of the poles, and gathering names of veterans in a series of meetings at the Herman Volunteer Fire Department.
At the end of one name-gathering meeting last month, Kamerer said, “As of right now, we have 40 names and we have another day to accept applications. We hope to end up with 50 to 55.”
Kamerer, a member of Troop 30 in Oakland Township and the son of Cindy and Mike Kamerer, said he enters the applications containing name, rank, branch of the service and a picture of the veteran into a computer and sends the information to HTM Designs in Florida which provides a mockup of each banner.
The actual banner will be made of vinyl and measures 24 by 36 inches. A second, smaller banner measuring 12 by 18 inches is available for yard or home display.
Kamerer said, “We plan to put them on poles going from the fire hall up the hill to the train trestle and along Bonniebrook Road from the municipal building to the Hays Service Center.” He said Armstrong Utility has offered him the use of a bucket truck and driver to help install the banners on the poles.
The large banners will cost the applicants $125. But Kamerer said he and his fellow Troop 30 Scouts will make the hangers out of PVC pipe. He reached out to Lowes, Home Depot and other home stores for donations of materials.
He said he got the idea last year and ran it past his Scoutmaster Gary Wulff and Scout executive Jerry Cogley who thought it was a great idea.
“I was looking for a way to pay tribute to the military in our community,” Kamerer said.
His sister, Breanna, put up notices in local businesses, and he staged a series of 11 application meetings in the fire hall.
“People just started filing in for information and applications,” Kamerer, a junior Herman VFC firefighter, said.
Wulff said, “It’s up to the Eagle Scout to get it organized.” He added Kamerer also had to reach a maintenance agreement with the township for upkeep of the banners. It’s possible that the banners could hang for years.
“You don’t want a sign hanging at an angle. It’s not respectful to the man whose sign it is,” said Wulff.
For Kamerer, achieving Eagle Scout could be the culmination of a long career in Scouting that started in the first grade.
He explained a Scout had to earn a certain amount of merit badges and work his way through the Scout program to reach the point where he would undertake an Eagle Scout project.
But it hasn’t been a chore for him. “Honestly, I like learning. I like to do a lot of the first aid and be prepared. A lot of the outdoor stuff I’ve enjoyed,” he said.
Wulff said after the project, Kamerer will have to file an application with an Eagle Scout board of review that includes writing a life’s ambition letter that will be submitted to the National Boy Scout Council.
If approved, he will have a troop-level ceremony denoting his achievement of Eagle Scout.
“It’s up to the parents how big or small they want the ceremony to be. He’ll also get a letter from the President of the United States, who holds the charter of the Boy Scouts of America,” said Wulff.
“There’s a light at the end of the tunnel,” said Kamerer, who has a welding job lined up at Robinson Fans Inc. in Zelienople after he graduates. “I will be really glad if I make it. But I don’t think I’m going to leave the troop.” He may remain as an assistant troop leader.
