Eagle Scout

June 15, 2006
Section: Tempe Republic
Edition: Final Chaser
Page: 2
Column:AROUND TEMPE

BOY BUILDS CHURCH SHOWER, EARNS EAGLE
NANCY PUFFER, Special for The Republic

Talk to anyone who's had a good experience in Boy Scouts and you'll soon find out it can provide lots of family fun and teach young people useful skills. For the boys who achieve the rank of Eagle Scout, those skills include organizing a project that takes their training into the community for the benefit of others.

For Tommy Crane, 12, of Chandler, that meant almost 400 hours of work at a Tempe church to complete a huge project that would earn him his Eagle. "Tommy turned a bathroom at Mission del Sol Presbyterian Church in Tempe into a shower room," his mother, Karen, said.

The church participates in Family Promise, an organization that houses homeless families on a rotating basis. Tommy's project included removing toilets, moving the drain, having plumbing done and tiling the shower and floor. He is still collecting items such as razors, combs, soap and shampoo for distribution to the families, she said. Tommy organized the project including enlisting 19 volunteers. "Every time Family Promise came to my church, I always helped out," says Tommy, a student at Pueblo Middle School. "I've been working with them for six years, and I wanted to do something more.

"Right now, the Family Promise participants had to travel to downtown Phoenix to take a shower. I wanted them to have a place closer."

A member of Salt River District Troop No. 172, Tommy will receive his Eagle Court of Honor ceremony in August. According to the usscouts.org Web site, two out of every 100 boys who join Scouts achieve the rank of Eagle Scout.

For information about neighborhood Scout groups in the area, www.grandcanyonbsa.org or Grand Canyon Council at (602) 955-7747.