It’s a win for everyone. The Little Miami State Park boasts a new kiosk to provide helpful information to trail users, FLMSP gets a big price break on construction, and Tejas Dinesh of Troop 838 in Morrow becomes an Eagle Scout.
Tejas, a junior at Little Miami High School, raised funds, gathered materials, organized volunteers, and supervised construction of the new kiosk at South Lebanon as his Eagle Scout project, with FLMSP providing blueprints and oversight. Tejas raised $1900 through Go Fund Me and received a generous discount on lumber at Lowe’s. The South Lebanon Village Council connected him with a concrete company that donated their material for the kiosk base. A family friend donated use of his garage for Tejas to build the kiosk roof and cut the supporting posts, and a forklift for lifting the roof onto the posts.
Tejas completed the kiosk on Thanksgiving Day at a total cost of $1314, all for materials. The excess $600 in funding is being donated to FLMSP. He and his 16 volunteers, including his parents and younger brother, put in 231 man hours. The Eagle Scout project, which is to benefit the community in a meaningful way and demonstrate the Scout’s leadership, provided valuable experience for Tejas. He learned about project funding, woodworking and concrete skills, patience, and leadership. “The biggest leadership challenge is organizing people who are older than you,” said Tejas. “When you go back home, your parents are back in charge.”
In addition to holding a leadership position in his Scout troop, Tejas also runs track and cross country and is on his school’s academic team. He plans to study chemical engineering in college.
