By Dave Warner
Shane Polyak has decided to take on a considerable task as an Eagle Scout, wanting to raise money to purchase and install a new digital sign in front of Emmanuel Church on Albany Street.
He’s come up with several unique ways to get the funding, from individual donations, 50% of the meals sold at the church during the months of February and March going to the project, the sale of a quilt, and even a GoFund.me page.
Shane said that he used to live in New Jersey and that his friends got him into Boy Scouts. “After a while, I really started getting into it and made new friends. Then the whole moving thing happened, and I had to find a new troop in Little Falls.”
He said he’s now the last of the oldest of his friends in the troop.
Shane was looking for a project, and the idea of a new electronic sign for the church came to mind. “I looked around and found this company that does LED signs in Texas. They told me I just had to raise the money, and they’d send me the parts.”
His mom Sharon stated, “They’re just modules that snap together.”
“It takes a lot for somebody to stay in the Boy Scouts until the end. They get to the age where they start to lose interest because they get involved in school sports, and it’s hard to keep them in,” she said.
Sharon said that Shane has been a Scout since first grade and that when you have all that time invested in it, you think about making it to Life Scout, which is the rank before Eagle.
She said that adults in their 20s and 30s regret staying through Eagle Scout. “They regret not sticking around for those last two years to get Eagle Scout. It really means a lot to get that.”
“It opens up a lot of opportunities, having that Eagle Scout status,” she stated.
Sharon said that the sign is costly, so they need all the support they can get to raise the money and make it happen.
“The plan is to use the existing sign’s framework. The panels will be attached to that sign,” she stated.
They also have to update the electricity to support the new installation. “It’s a big project to take on, but it will be good for many years,” she said.
Sharon said they checked to ensure it could withstand our cold temperatures and that it was good to -30F.
Raffle tickets for the quilt can be purchased by calling 315-741-4672, or they can be purchased at the church dinners. They are $3.00 for one or two for $5.00. The drawing will be held on April 23, 2023.
