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Matthew Allbritten shows one of the boxes he made as part of his Eagle Scout project. This one sits inside Valley Center True Value Hardware Store.

Program brings life into focus for this Scout
By Chris Strunk
Last Updated: November 24, 2021

For Matthew Allbritten, Boy Scouts wasn't just about merit badges and campouts. It was a life-changing experience.

Allbritten, a senior at Valley Center High School, recently completed his Eagle Scout project and was given the Scout's highest honor during a ceremony earlier this month.

It was the culmination of 11 years of learning and growing for Allbritten.

"The journey has just been awesome," said Allbritten, a member of Troop 494 in Valley Center. "Scouting as an organization has been life changing for me. I learned so much from it. I think that more people should get involved."

Allbritten said he was a shy fifth-grader, deathly afraid of speaking up in public, when he crossed over from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. He said the program taught him confidence, leadership skills and organization.

"I think everybody should do scouting," Allbritten said. "It just gives you a wide scope of opportunities. There are skills you don't get in school, you don't get in sports. They're tiny things, but there are enough tiny things to make a difference. … It means a lot to me, how much I learned and how much I have to learn."

Allbritten now has a future mapped out in front of him.

He wants to go to Michigan Technological University and major in mechanical engineering next year. He's done his research. Big car companies recruit new hires out of Michigan Tech, he said.

He wants to be involved in the car industry. He said he's interested in hydrogen fuel cell technology.

Whatever Allbritten does next year, he'll leave behind a couple of useful treasures in Valley Center.

Allbritten's Eagle Scout Award project was the construction of two wooden receptacles in which the community can place U.S. flags to be retired.

Allbritten said he got the idea from his Scout master, who showed him a similar project done by a Scout in western Kansas. There were no designated places in Valley Center for the public to bring flags that need to be retired.

"This could be really good for Valley Center," Allbritten said he thought at the time.

Allbritten got the approval from the city and the city council. After solidifying a plan, he solicited donations from Star Lumber and Valley Center True Value.

He had a workday in the summer, leading six other Scouts in constructing the two-feet-tall boxes.

They are now inside the lobby of the Valley Center Community Center and in the True Value hardware store.

"This is going to be something that I can look back on and be very proud of," Allbritten said.

Earning the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout means a lot to Allbritten.

To earn the rank, a Boy Scout must progress through the scouting ranks, earn 21 merit badges in a variety of areas, serve six months in a position of responsibility, execute a community service project, participate in a scout master conference while a Life Scout and complete a board of review.

Allbritten said he wants to continue in the scouting program's adult opportunities after he turns 18 in late February.

"It's done so much for me," he said.





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