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HAMPTON FALLS — Boy Scout Sam Hemond, an Eagle Scout candidate, is another step closer toward earning the organization’s highest achievement after hosting a very successful spaghetti dinner fundraiser recently.
A member of Hampton Falls Troop 377, Hemond, 16, is preparing to install a Reading Garden on the grounds of the town’s Free Library as his Eagle Scout project. It will replace an earlier established garden space that has since become overgrown.
The approximately $1,000 raised through the dinner event will help pay for paver stones and other landscaping materials. Work was scheduled to begin during a recent weekend on the Reading Garden, a circular spot measuring 14 feet in diameter which will be surrounded by plantings and situated just behind the library.
“I’ve got most of the materials,” Hemond said, as a bustling crew of volunteers prepped for the dinner at the town’s safety complex, where the event was held. “They’ve got them waiting on the sides (at) Landscaper’s Depot in Kingston.”
This is a project that Hemond has wanted to take on for some time, drawing inspiration from Eagle Scout Calvin Lord, a fellow troop member who had considered it when exploring his own project options two years ago.
Hemond first approached library and town officials a year and a half ago to offer his plan, and as is the case with all Eagle Scout projects, thorough documentation was needed just to get the Reading Garden off the ground.
“I didn’t realize how much paperwork it took to get it approved,” Hemond admitted. “It took a little longer than I expected.” The documentation, including everything from photos to a meticulously-kept record of donations and volunteer hours, continues throughout the project and will do so until he presents it all to the Boy Scout Council.
A home-schooled high school junior, Hemond has been a patron of the Hampton Falls Free Library since it was located on the Exeter Road. He has taken part in many of the youth programs that were offered at both library locations, such as the book club and book discussion groups, and the annual summer reading program.
Naturally, the library has been a constant resource for Hemond when it came to conducting research for school projects in general.
“It has always been helpful whenever needed,” he said.
His act of giving back to a town treasure is something that sits quite well with library director Judy Haskell and the library’s board of trustees.
“We’re all definitely behind this (and) we’re very excited,” Haskell said. “We are really looking forward to seeing what he does. It’s bound to be an improvement.”
Haskell added those improvements are being partially supported by a $500 grant she had applied for and submitted to the Rye Driftwood Garden Club, which awarded the grant for a collaborative effort in beautifying library grounds.
For selecting the plants that will be installed around the Reading Garden, Hemond tapped into the expertise of his Eagle Scout Advisor, Fire Chief Jay Lord, who has a degree in horticulture. He offered his assessment of Hemond’s project.
“He has a good plan (and) he’s ready to go,” Lord said, adding that he feels an Eagle Scout project “has nothing to do with the project. It’s the whole concept of running a project” that is the main directive.
“It should be called a Leadership Project, because that’s what it is,” said Troop 377 Scoutmaster J.P. Pontbriand.
Observing that advance thought and planning just to get a project in motion is “one of the most intimidating parts” of the process, Pontbriand said Hemond’s Reading Garden plan “has generated good support and enthusiasm,” that enhanced a sense of community, which “is one of the core things we try to do with a troop.”
It’s also a chance for scouts like Hemond to demonstrate those leadership skills they have developed by being involved in the Boy Scouts organization.
“Sam has done a lot of great things in our troop,” said Pontbriand, adding that Hemond has “continuously held one leadership position after another. The (other) scouts look up to him. He’s a great role model.”
The adults in Sam Hemond’s life appear quite impressed too, particularly his parents, Paul and Denise.
“We’re really proud of him,” said Denise, noting that many people from her son’s life (swim coach, members of their church and home school group, family and friends) showed their support by attending the spaghetti dinner. “He worked really hard to get to this point.”
“It has been a great experience watching my son lead his Eagle project from conception to the fund-raiser, to planning the actual Reading Garden,” said Paul. “It’s a real eye opener with all that is involved in a project. It’s great preparation for the future.”
As Sam Hemond continues his comprehensive path toward building a library Reading Garden and achieving the rank of Eagle Scout, he offered a simple reflection of his involvement with the organization he initially joined as a first grader.
“It has been fun,” he said, “and a huge part of my life.”
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