Eagle Scouts Tackle the Orange County Ronald McDonald House's storage issues.

The fact that a boy is an Eagle Scout has always carried with it a special significance, not only in Scouting but also as he enters higher education, business or industry, and community service. The award is a performance-based achievement whose standards have been well-maintained over the years. Not every boy who joins a Boy Scout troop earns the Eagle Scout rank; only about 5 percent of all Boy Scouts do so and we are proud to report that this year, we have been part of TWO Eagle Scout journeys.
 Congratulations Brandon Khong and Ethan Chen! Both boys did amazing projects with our storage spaces and we could not be happier with the results.

A little-known fact: The Orange County Ronald McDonald House has a volunteer who specializes in the mentoring and supervision of Eagle Scout Projects. Wes Thoroughman, a Core Volunteer with the House, is our go-to person whenever a Scout contacts us with an Eagle Scout project request. Wes holds a preliminary meeting with the Scout to assess his skills and our needs and together they come up with a project for the House. This year, Wes worked with Brandon Khong and Ethan Chen. Both projects were months in the making but we are so delighted with the end results.
Brandon Khong from Orange County Boy Scout Venture Crew 299 put together the project for the small garage.  On installation day (Saturday, October 15) Brandon and other members of his Venture Crew brought in the partially completed cabinetry.  After clearing the garage, the cabinetry was moved into position and doors were hung. After a full day’s work and several obstacles he had to overcome on site, Brandon was able to proudly nail his nameplate to his completed project at 8pm!

Ethan Chen from Garden Grove Scout Troop 167 did the large garage project.  He had an 8 a.m. early start with his work team.  They got the garage cleared/swept out quickly, and before lunch were able to get the cabinets in place. Due to the slight variations in the wood dimensions, all of the cabinet doors were cut and painted on site---all 64 of them. That afternoon, Ethan's dad went to pick up the carts for the folding chairs from the welder*.  A quick installation of the wheels, and attachment of the plaque, and Ethan was done around 4pm.  

* Ethan's dad told us that when Ethan was looking to get the carts done, the welder told him that he'd had to stay at the Pasadena House for his son and was thrilled to give back by donating his time! What a small world.