In August, Coral Gables High senior Jack Lawhorn refurbished an outdoor seating area at the Everglades K- 8 Center for his Eagle Scout Project. Lawhorn is a member of Troop 76 based at St. Stephens Episcopal Church.
“I fixed the benches, painted the benches and about 200 feet of fence. And then did some landscaping to replace some sick plants,” he said.
Project planning began the first day of summer break and completion happened just before the start of school. He split the work into two days, Aug. 14 and 23.
On the first day, they fixed the 20 feet of picnic style benches, replacing screws and dealing with nails that stuck out of the benches. They also replaced any rotten wood.
The second project day called for removal of sick and dying plants that were replaced with low maintenance, drought resistant plants. They also painted the fence surrounding the area.
Lawhorn’s community service extends beyond Scouts. At Gables, he worked with a friend, Brandon Chung, to develop a website for the PTSA.
“The website lets them collect donations and membership fees online,” he said. “Which is something they really needed.”
He volunteers at PTSA events such as college fairs by helping set up and take down tables and helping college representatives set up.
Lawhorn is a member of the Future Business Leaders of America and participates in competitions. He has been able to do well enough at the district level to qualify for the state competition in the Digital Design and Promotion category.
“This year I think I’m going to do mobile application development,” he said.
Lawhorn is a National Merit Scholarship Semi- Finalist. The next step is to fill out an application and write an essay.
In college, he plans to major in either computer science or graphic design. He is considering UF, FSU and UCF and American University in Washington, DC.
By Linda Rodriguez Bernfeld
