A local Boy Scout has received Eagle Scout Status for his renovation of Samuel Lusk Theatre.

Eric Mitchell, 18, saw the state of the benches at the theatre and knew they needed to be replaced.

“A person who works for the town of Flower Mound had a list (of things that would be good Eagle Scout Projects) and I picked the theatre off the list,” Mitchell said.

As with all Eagle Scout projects, the scout must do all the organizing and planning for the project.

Mitchell placed flyers at Town Hall so people could see what he was trying to accomplish and would contribute.

“The state of Samuel Lusk Theatre has become very wretched. For my Boy Scouts of America Eagle project, I will be helping to restore this once beautiful theatre by repairing the benches. In order for me to be able to do this task, I need help from some humble citizens, like yourself, by donating from $5-$10 to help pay for the boards to replace the deteriorating ones seen above. A bonus to donating besides the feeling of doing good, is that you may have your name forever imprinted into the back of one of these boards. Just fill out the form below and return it with your donation to the address and your good deed can be remembered by all those who will use the new and improved Samuel Lusk Theatre,” he said in the flyer.

The flyer paid off because the project was finished recently and Mitchell had his court of honor to receive his Eagle Scout rank this past week.

“The preparation took a couple of weeks, and it took four or five Saturdays to complete the project,” he said.

Mitchell’s project had to be something that is beneficial to a town or church, and had to fulfill a requirement for a certain amount of man-hours, he said. Mitchell then had to coordinate a group of about 30 volunteers to complete the project.

“I’m very proud. It felt good to complete the project,” he said.

The town of Flower Mound also took notice of the project.

“The town is also replacing the wooden stage with a concrete stage,” said Mark Wood, community affairs specialist for Flower Mound.

Samuel Lusk Theatre is usually used as a venue for children’s theatre, Wood said.

Ernie Goucher, director of Keep Flower Mound Beautiful keeps a list of projects that scouts can use for their Eagle project.

“We welcome Eagle Scout Projects to the town and we are thrilled to assist scouts to complete this major accomplishment in their lives. We appreciate all the hard work the scouts put into the projects to beautify and enhance Flower Mound,” Wood said.

Many improvements have come to the town because of Eagle Scout projects, including a GPS adventure, which allows citizens to take a tour of the local parks, Wood said.[via