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MEMPHIS, MO -- Boy Scouts of America contribute in many ways to their local communities and recently Scotland County Hospital in Memphis was the benefactor of some of their hard work.  Joshua Keller, 17-year-old son of Dr. & Mrs. Ronald Keller, recognized a need at the local Hospital.  After nearly two years of construction and renovation at the Hospital, there are key areas at the facility that need landscaping.  The south entrance and flag pole is the main entrance (off Watkins Street) and focal point of the new construction and needed some landscaping attention.  Joshua, his parents and nine other Scouts and parents spent over nine hours each completing the landscaping project which involved  46 plants/shrubs, several loads of rock and rolls and rolls of weed control fabric.  Dr. Keller provided a tractor and scoop to make dirt moving faster, however several Scouts resorted to the old-fashioned method of dirt hauling with a wheelbarrow.

The road to earning the rank of Eagle Scout is a long one and it has to be completed by a boy’s 18th birthday.  By their own statistics, the rank of Eagle Scout is earned by only 5 percent of Boy Scouts each year.  The list of requirements is rather daunting, and includes progressing through a series of ranks, earning a minimum of 21 merit badges, taking part in a leadership conference, holding troop leadership roles, and, of course, planning and successfully completing an Eagle Scout Service Project that benefits a school, community or religious organization.  The Scout must coordinate all aspects of his project from inception through budgeting, and coordination of volunteers.  To top that all off, candidates must also successfully complete an Eagle Scout Board of Review.

Joshua is a Scout with Kirksville Troop 406.  He is currently a freshman at Moberly Area Community College and will transfer to Brigham Young University in Provo, UT, in the Spring of 2013 to study engineering.

The Scotland County Hospital Board of Directors, Administration and staff wish to thank Joshua Keller and Kirksville Troop 406 for their hard work at making a significant contribution to the Hospital and the community.