Jaxson Wilson Earns Eagle Scout Award By Creating Benches for Meraki Health

Jaxson Wilson, son of Jeremy and Rhonda Wilson, earned the highest award in Boy Scouts with his Eagle Scout project which involved collecting plastic lids that were taken to ABC Plastics in Evansville, Indiana to create benches. Jaxson chose Meraki Health to donate the benches too.

What were some of the challenges you had to overcome to complete this project?

The biggest challenge was cleaning all the lids needed to build the number benches they requested.  The two benches that I donated required 600 pounds of lids.  COVID also caused me some issues as well due to not being able to schedule cleaning days earlier in the process.  This led to having to clean most of all the lids on a couple Saturdays which was a lot of work.

What are two lessons you learned and how will they help you in life?

The first lesson is the value of recycling.  Through this project, 600 less pounds of garbage went into a landfill to stay there forever.  The second lesson I learned was the value of community support.  Several people in Jasper County helped me in many different ways through the years.  This has shown me the value of helping people and giving back to the community. 

Who influenced and helped you throughout this project?

Destin Wilson was my biggest influencer in Scouting which led to the point of the Eagle Scout Project.  He got me involved in several activities through Scouts that has help me prepare for my life ahead.  My Mom and Dad was a huge help in completing the project.  They help collect the lids and sort the lids to be ready for the cleaning days.  Jason Bower helped me to survive the COVID years when opportunities to attend Scouting Events was very limited. Crystal Cook pushed and assisted me with all the paperwork needed to be ready for my Eagle Scout board of review.

What is some advice you would give scouts upcoming if they are considering doing an Eagle Scout Project?

The most important thing to remember is to NEVER GIVE UP!  Most projects are a lot of work and take several hours to complete.  Too many kids make it in Scouting to this point then stop due the work needed to complete the project.  Earning Eagle Scout rank can help you in college or other areas of your life and the reward is worth the effort.   

Is there anything you would like to add?

I would like to thank all the people who collected and donated lids to this project because without these donations this project could not have been completed.  Also, thanks to the other Scouts who helped me clean and weigh the lids to take to Evansville.  Lastly, I would like to thank all the people who supported me by buying the things I sold through my years in Scouts that allowed me to earn this rank.