Eagle Scout got there through leadership

By Thomas Nelson, tnelson@charlescitypress.com

Hayden Pleggenkuhle became an Eagle Scout last weekend after years of work Scouting.

“I started out as Cub Scout back in first-grade I think,” Pleggenkuhle said. “Then I moved up to Boy Scouts. To become an Eagle Scout there were lots of requirements I had to do.”

Leadership was an important variable for Pleggenkuhle as he worked to become an Eagle Scout.

When Pleggenkuhle started out he learned from other Scouts, but as he got older he took over that role for the Scouts under him.

“You can teach other Scouts,” he said.

And the leadership skills Pleggenkuhle has developed have helped him in other activities he’s worked on outside of Scouting, he said.

Pleggenkuhle said becoming an Eagle Scout wasn’t easy.

“It’s a lot of work, a lot more work than you think,” Pleggenkuhle said. “A lot of paperwork.”

Part of becoming an Eagle Scout is completing a project, and Pleggenkuhle built a gaga ball pit in a park near Floyd.

Gaga ball is kind of like dodgeball, played in an eight-sided “pit” made with wooden sides, Pleggenkuhle said.

“I built it out at the Cedar Springs Wesleyan Camp by Floyd,” he said.

Pleggenkuhle first heard of Gaga ball at a summer camp in Boone. “We played it like all week long,” he said.

Throughout his Scouting career, Pleggenkuhle has learned a lot of skills he’s been able to use in and out of scouting, he said.

“There’s a bunch of fun experiences like camping,” he said. “There’s a lot of merit badges like rifle shooting and welding, and there are other badges. There’s one called the red flannel where you had to camp in below-freezing temperatures overnight.”

Pleggenkuhle earned his red flannel badge in Charles City one cold night at R Campgrounds, he said.

He got his rifle and welding badges at the summer camp in Boone.

Pleggenkuhle is 16, which is younger than average for an Eagle Scout. The average age to earn the rank is about 17½, according to the Boy Scouts of America.

“I hope to get some palms, which are medals you get after you become an Eagle,” Pleggenkuhle said. “Then, probably, help some of the younger Scouts become Eagles too.”

After graduating high school, Pleggenkuhle is thinking about going to Iowa State University to major in engineering.