Megan Harris introduced her patriotic Eagle Scout project Sunday, Dec. 20, at the North Webster American Legion Post. InkFreeNews photos by Phoebe Muthart.

By Phoebe Muthart
InkfreeNews

NORTH WEBSTER — A female Scout member unveiled her completed Eagle Scout patriotic project Sunday, Dec. 20, at the American Legion in North Webster.

Megan Harris, a female member of the North Webster Boy Scout Troop 726, delivered her Eagle Scout project today along with her family. Now that she has delivered it, she will have completed her Eagle Scout project and will submit her application as Kosciusko County’s first female Eagle Scout, possibly the first in northern Indiana.

Harris, 17, is a senior at Churubusco High School. She joined the Scout troop in February 2019, when girls were allowed to join Boy Scouts, now called just Scouts.

Harris is the daughter of Mark and Mandi Harris of Churubusco.

Her Eagle Scout project was redoing the Legion’s American flag retirement drop off box. She had the steel box sandblasted and then repainted it, applied a new American Legion logo and had an American flag wrap applied to the sides. She also constructed a wooden box and painted it for the American Legion to move the flags from the drop-off box to the new wood box to await retirement.

She came up with the Eagle Scout project about two months ago.

“I wanted to help the veterans with flags,” Harris commented. Her late maternal grandfather, Jack, was a Navy veteran.

She built both of the projects in her grandfather’s barn in Bluffton. Her grandparents are Mike and Sue Harris of Bluffton.

Harris said she had a lot of support from friends and family, including her parents and her Scoutmaster, Heather Van Ness.

“I’m very excited about it,” said Van Ness. “I like to encourage the girls. It was really about helping her,” said Van Ness of Harris. “She’s been a big supporter.”

Harris said she would like to see more girls join Scouts. “It’s really important,” stressed Harris.

The Legion’s Commander, Larry Burkhart, who is also second district commander, said he had been looking for someone who could replace the old flag disposal box. “The other one was God awful,” he said.

“She’s a wonderful young lady,” added Burkhart.

The new drop-off box is now located by the American Legion’s sign on SR 13, in North Webster.

She is the first female from the Legion to get the religious emblem, according to Burkhart. The emblem has been added to her other ones, and there are several.

She is also the first female youth member of The Kiskakon Lodge of the Order of the Arrow.

Harris’ project will be sent to the next level in July at the state conference in Indianapolis, and hopefully onto nationals next year.

This new flag drop-off box was unveiled Sunday, Dec. 20, at North Webster American Legion.

Megan Harris is pictured with her parents, Mark and Mandi Harris, and her two projects.

Pictured from left are Scoutmaster Heather Van Ness, her mother Mandi Harris, Legion Commander Larry Burkhart, Megan Harris  and her father Mark Harris.

Megan Harris is pictured with one of her projects, a drop-off flag box, located at the American Legion in North Webster.

Two men unload an Eagle Scout project at The American Legion in North Webster.

This new retired flag box was done as an Eagle Scout project for the American Legion.