Joshua Bland, a 15-year old sophomore at Waukee High School, recently achieved the highest rank in Scouting and will soon be recognized at his upcoming Eagle Scout Court of Honor ceremony March 1.
      The son of Gary and Sandy Bland of Clive is an active member of Waukee Boy Scout Troop 178.
      Josh has been a long-standing member of Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines ever since his family moved to the area in 1999. He decided to do a project benefiting his congregation.
      He worked with the church staff and several member volunteers to create a Calvary scene at one of the entranceways to the church. Three crosses and some bushes were placed on a berm at the edge of the parking lot.
      As he was contemplating a service project that would test his leadership skills, he met with several church staff members to ask for ideas. During his discussions he learned that two other congregation members had a vision for creating a Calvary scene in one of the outdoor areas.
      Joshua decided to adopt a portion of the landscaping for his project.
      Originally, his plans were to use three already existing wooden crosses, but after viewing them, it was determined that they would be too short for the intended purpose. So Josh went to Gilchrest Jewett and with the help of a generous donation and discount for materials, new crosses were built by Josh's troop members in his garage.
      They distressed the wood and added rope at the cross points to make them look more authentic. Then Josh talked with Midwest Landscaping and Irrigation, and received a significant discount on the purchase of barberry bushes that were also planted by the troop.
      Finalization of Josh's Eagle project was the culmination of many activities that he organized including: facilitating numerous planning meetings, making phone calls, writing request letters and sending thank you notes, coordinating the labor of adult and scout volunteers as they built the crosses, placed them at the church and planted shrubbery, and meeting with an Eagle Board of Review that determined that he had met all the requirements to earn the rank of Eagle.
      In addition to completing his Eagle project, Joshua also had to earn at least 21 required merit badges (to date, he has earned 31), and demonstrate leadership skills, good citizenship and active participation in scouting. Through scouting, Josh has attended many campouts and summer camps. He has been selected to the Order of the Arrow and Mic-O-Say.
      Some of his scouting highlights include canoeing the Canadian Boundary Waters, bicycling in the Black Hills and backpacking in New Mexico during his troop's High Adventure trips.
      "I wish to thank all of the church staff and many volunteers who helped make my project a reality including Chris Gunarre-Operations Director and Gary Callaghan-Facilities Manager at Lutheran Church of Hope. Also, church members Rick Stessman for drilling the holes for the crosses, Ed Arp-landscape architect and Jake West-landscape designer," Josh said. "I really appreciate my fellow scouts who helped on the work days. Jake shared his awesome design ideas for this Calvary scene and I hope in the future other volunteer groups will continue to make the entire landscape design come to life."
      He added it is his hope that other individuals or church groups will adopt smaller projects such as lighting the crosses, adding boulders, creating a walking path, planting trees and adding other small plants.