Joe Bigler, a junior at Clear Lake High School and a member of Boy Scout Troop 848, was looking for an Eagle Scout project. In discussions with Herb Meyer, Senior Warden of St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal Church in Nassau Bay, Joe chose to develop a 10 year plan for the grounds around St. Thomas with a landscape architect and to implement a portion of the plan.
Joe first developed a survey about what the congregation would want around the church. He administered the survey, tabulated the data and presented it to the church. Then he and Mr. Meyer met with the landscape architect to present the results of the survey. The landscape architect developed a plan for the and presented the plan to the church for comments. During this period, Joe raised funds by selling and delivering mulch to the congregation of the church and in sales neighborhoods established through his scout troop. He sold and delivered 640 bags of mulch for approximately $1,100 of profit to spend on his project.
The portion of the plan Joe decided to carry out was to beautify the area around the Holy Smokers Barbecue Pit. The Holy Smokers are a men’s cooking group at the church. This area is visible at the entrance to the church from the parking lot. A row of azaleas and a row of dwarf yaupons were planted around the barbecue slab to hide the cookers from view and to provide a safety barrier between hot grills and any children that might approach the grill. He also excavated a trench around the foundation of the church in the area of the barbecue pit and filled it with gravel to help with water drainage around the building. In addition, he excavated a pit and filled it with gravel for storage of wood for the wood grills.
Joe then assembled a list of all the materials needed to carry out the project and recruited approximated 30 people from Troop 848 to help carry out the work on the day of the project. He located and borrowed tools from troop members.
Support from the congregation of St Thomas was greatly appreciated through those who supported the mulch sale. Both Herb Meyer and Rob Pucket, church members and Eagle Scouts themselves, were especially helpful with planning and carrying out the project.
The project was completed on Saturday, April 23rd. Joe feels very thankful for the opportunity to complete his project at St. Thomas. It was a very rewarding experience. Everyone involved chipped in and cheerfully got the job accomplished with a can-do attitude, even though the recent heavy rains caused some difficulties. St. Thomas the Apostle is especially thankful for the Holy Smoker project and the 10 year plan. Joe was very professional and accomplished this Eagle Scout project to the betterment of the church.