Alex Lorenz recently gave an area church a bit of a face-lift, which earned him the top honor in his Boy Scout Troop.
Lorenz, 18, of Chicago, is a member of Boy Scout Troop 690 out of St. Celestine Parish. He was recently awarded the rank of Eagle Scout, the organization’s top honor.
To receive the honor, Boy Scouts have to plan, fund and organize a social service project. He chose to help Martin Luther Church, 6850 W. Addison St., Chicago.
“The project was on the outside of the building and I did some landscaping, put out some plants and bushes and flowers,” he said. “I repainted one of the door entrances and washed the windows and things like that.”
He said he was proud to help the church, but felt even better when he received the news that he would become an Eagle Scout because of his efforts.
“I was definitely grinning from ear to ear that night,” he said.
Q.: Why have you stayed in the Boy Scouts for so long?
A: I thought it was something that was fun. It gave me a lot of opportunities to do some things that I wouldn’t have done. Gave me a lot of experience and I wouldn’t have the good memories and friendships that I do now.
Q: How did you feel when you found out you were going to become an Eagle Scout?
A: I was kind of relieved. It was something that I was aiming for since I was a Cub Scout. I was happy that I was going to be an Eagle Scout. It felt really rewarding because it all paid off.
Q: What do you do for fun?
A: In school, I’ve never been into sports. I spend all of my extracurricular time doing set crew for the theater group at Guerin Prep. I kind of used the skills I’ve learned in woodworking from the scouts and was able to use them.
Q: What would you tell someone who was interested in joining the Boy Scouts?
A: You will have a lot of good memories that are going to stick with you. It’s something that opens a lot of doors for you. It’s something that looks good on a resume.
Q: Now that you’ve achieved your goal and no longer can be a Boy Scout because of your age, what’s next for you?
A: I plan to stick with my troop. I talked to my scout leader about signing on as a counselor or become an assistant troop leader. I still want to go on some camping trips with the troop and hang out with my friends.
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—David Pollard, Pioneer Press
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