When the marching band at Zionsville Community High School prepares for performances on the football field this fall, getting their gear will be a little bit easier, thanks to one member’s Eagle Scout project.
Gavin Skok, 16, earned the rank of Eagle Scout this summer with his project to install a concrete pad under the bleachers.
Skok, a junior who plays trombone in the band, is a member of Boy Scout Troop 804 in Zionsville, chartered by the Boys & Girls Club of Boone County. He decided to go for the rank of Eagle Scout this year with a project to benefit his bandmates.
“The project was brought to me by (Zionsville marching band sponsor Tom Landrum). One day he said, ‘You know what would be really great? If we had concrete in the storage area,” Skok said. “I told him I could make that happen. So, starting in November (2023) until a few weeks ago, we’ve been hard at work planning, organizing and executing this entire project.”
The project — a 17-foot-by-53-foot concrete slab — improved the quality of the marching band’s storage area underneath the bleachers on the football field. The concrete was poured July 15. In the months prior, Skok had to learn what pouring concrete actually involved.
“I knew next to nothing about concrete,” he said. “I knew a couple of things, but I did not know a whole lot. So, from November to April, I spent time researching, learning all that I could about the whole process, and worked on estimates and quotes to get the project done for as little as possible.”
Although Skok couldn’t pour the concrete himself, he still did a lot of the labor.
“The storage of the marching band props has been underneath the bleachers, and they’ve been on gravel and old plywood,” Skok’s mother, Marni Skok, said. “So, he had to clear out all the marching band props to begin with. It was years and years of props in there. So, he sat down with the director to see what would be kept and what would be trashed. That was step one, and step two was to clear out all the gravel and rocks and plywood down to the dirt.”
Marni Skok — an administrative assistant in the school district — assisted with hiring a contractor.
“I knew they were doing work here at the high school this summer with concrete, so I called the contractor, and I asked if we could piggyback off of them already being here,” she said.
Marni Skok turned those conversations over to her son to finish the negotiations.
“I really just asked them whether they would be interested in doing this project and if so, how much they would be willing to do it for and also explained all the details of the project,” Gavin Skok said. “After seeing estimates … I heard from the contractor that he was able to get the whole thing done for about $6,000.”
Skok participated in fundraising activities to raise that money, collecting about $4,000 by soliciting members of the community, with the marching band boosters donating the remaining portion.
Skok said he knows reaching the rank of Eagle Scout isn’t something all Scouts can achieve, as time commitments become more difficult with the rigors and responsibilities of getting older.
“With high school, jobs, possibly getting your permit or license and just transitioning to being an adult, Scouting falls into the background,” he said. “But when I first joined Boy Scouts, I was really encouraged to work really hard. Before high school you have a lot more time versus high school. And it’s those kids who work hard who think of a project and are able to execute it in the time they have to attain the rank of Eagle Scout.”
Skok said he plans to attend college after high school and eventually enter a music-related field.
“I see (music) as a limitless career opportunity that I want to pursue in life,” he said.
His project will benefit the band at ZCHS for years to come.
“His project is deserving of some recognition,” Landrum said. “It’s pretty awesome.”
ACHIEVING RANK OF EAGLE SCOUT
There are six ranks within the Boy Scouts of America that are earned sequentially: Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life and Eagle.
Gavin Skok said he knew he wanted to be an Eagle Scout when he earned the rank of First Class Scout.
“Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, said all Scouts should at least get to First Class so that they are prepared with skills they will need to succeed in life,” Skok said. “When I got to First Class, I had merit badges under my belt, I was pretty active in my troop. So, I figured, why not just go all the way?”
Skok said reaching the milestone required a lot of hard work and dedication.
“Eagle Scout is a heck of a lot harder (than lower ranks),” Skok said. “You have to plan, coordinate and organize a project and there is a lot of other stuff that you have to do. Paperwork, leadership, things like that.”
Eagle Scouts also have to earn a minimum of 21 merit badges and be active as a Life Scout in leadership with their troop in addition to their final project.
Since the rank of Eagle Scout was first established in 1912, more than 2 million Scouts have reached the honor.
A two-year study completed by Baylor University in 2014 showed Eagle Scouts are more likely than those who have never been in Scouting to have higher levels of planning and preparation skills; be in a leadership position at their place of employment or local community; volunteer for religious and nonreligious organizations; and work with others to improve their neighborhoods.
Learn more about BSA at scouting.org.
