ATHENS-Garrett Waters (senior at East Limestone High) is a candidate for the Eagle Scout Rank with local Scout Troop 236 in Athens. For his Eagle Scout project, Garrett led a team of boys from the troop and other volunteers to build seven benches for the East Limestone community.
There is a bench for each of the two East Limestone Volunteer Fire stations – one for the location on East Limestone Rd next to the school, and one for the station on Capshaw Road. Two benches will be dedicated to Creekside – one for the primary side and one for the elementary side. And there is a bench for Isom’s Chapel Church, as troop 236 has met in their fellowship hall most Monday nights over the last twelve years while Garrett has been involved in scouting.
And finally, we are pleased to have 2 benches to be gifted at East Limestone High as well, one for the high school and one for the middle school. Garrett raised money for his bench project with a GoFundMe account, but then we were later blessed to receive a generous donation of $2000 from East Limestone High School (and Band) alum, Brittany Howard – formerly of the band The Alabama Shakes, and now she is a Grammy-Winning solo artist currently on tour. Since we had already met our financial requirement for the supplies for the benches, Ms. Howard asked that we provide her $2000 donation the the ELHS Marching Band for any equipment needs, and/or support of band fees for children unable to pay the fees to take part in band, etc. As a result of her generosity, we painted one East bench in tribute to Brittany Howard, and the other is in honor of her late sister Jaime (also a former student at East) who tragically passed away as a teen from cancer.
We are delivering the benches to the east limestone volunteer fire stations on Thursday 11/30 at 7pm. The two benches for Creekside Elementary will be delivered on Friday, 12/1 at 2pm.
We would like to present the two benches to the East Limestone High school during the band Christmas concert in December. I believe there is still some coordination being done around setting a date for the band christmas concert, but as soon as we know the date and time for the performance, of course we want to be sure to invite you to the event and bench dedication.
Each sturdy wooden bench has been sanded and stained with brown wood stain, and the backs of each bench have been hand painted. The benches are also sealed with a durable outdoor marine spar vanish to preserve the color, prevent weather damage, etc. so they stay looking nice for years to come.
Attached are some photos of the benches, including close up shots of the two prepared for East. The designs are in a colorful pop-art style inspired by artist Romero Britto.
