Ladies Complete Eagle Projects in Rock Springs

Ladies Complete Eagle Projects in Rock Springs

ROCK SPRINGS – Two young ladies are earning their Eagle Rank with Boy Scouts of America Girls Troop 307, helping their community and blazing a trail for others to follow.

Elizabeth Burton, a junior in high school, and Rileigh Trautman, a sophomore, completed projects that will receive ribbon cuttings today. Burton built eight self-standing coat racks for Young at Heart Senior Center, while Trautman created two concrete benches that will be placed near a park at the corner of Westridge Drive and Cascade Drive. The ribbon cutting for Trautman’s project takes place at 5 p.m. at the corner of Westridge Drive and Cascade Drive, while Burton’s ribbon cutting takes place at 5:45 p.m. at the senior center.

Burton said she noticed the senior center didn’t have coat racks, with patrons opting to place their jackets and coats on the back of their chairs, which would then sometimes fall to the ground. She created racks of different sizes that can be used by wheelchair-bound patrons. Trautman’s project is personal as she opted to do it after hearing about her how former preschool teacher would take her grandchildren to the park, but they wouldn’t stay long because she didn’t have anywhere to sit.

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Over the course of two days, the girls and a group of five adult volunteers worked on their projects, putting in nine hours of work the first day and another five hours the next. The girls also helped each other out as they worked, with Burton remarking she wasn’t aware of how difficult it is to work with concrete.

“I thought it would be easy, but it took a lot of work,” Trautman said.

Beyond the actual labor of the projects, both also required meeting with the organizations involved and, for Trautman’s project, talk to city parks representatives to figure out where the 400-pound benches could be placed. Aside from the adult volunteers, they also received assistance from Bloedorn Lumber, which donated the materials for both projects.

The two are the first to earn the Eagle rank in the troop as the BSA started allowing girls to join in 2019. Both girls say it feels good to be trailblazers in the troop and plan to continue their activities with the scouts moving forward. For Burton, she wants to help the younger girls in the troop, including her sister.

“I feel like I’m a good leader and I can help them by showing them things I did,” Burton said.

Their Scout Master, Sandra Trautman, said the girls might not be aware of how large their accomplishments are, but is been impressed with the work ethic and dedication they’ve shown in completing them.

“It’s a big, huge accomplishment … I’m very proud of them,” she said.