Trinity senior develops Bradford House video for Eagle Scout project
Calvin White’s Eagle Scout project didn’t entail the usual physical work associated with the undertaking.
The Trinity High School senior developed a promotional video of the David Bradford House Museum, located at 175 S. Main St. in Washington.
“This is new,” White said. “It’s sort of a new precedent for the new age of young Scouts. Typically, Eagle Scout projects yield physical results. That was one of the things that came up as I was trying to get my project approved by the Eagle Board was that it didn’t yield a tangible result. The question was, ‘Does this benefit the community enough to be a good Eagle Scout project?’ Ultimately, they decided that it was sufficient.”
The museum was the home of Washington attorney David Bradford, a leader of the Whiskey Rebellion. He built the house – the first stone house on South Main Street – in 1788. The museum celebrated its 60th anniversary earlier this year.
Initially, White considered doing a video of the museum’s second floor for those unable to travel the stairs.
“That project had already been delegated to another organization, which did develop a second-floor tour,” explained David Budinger, a docent at the museum. “He had to readjust a few times and we finally came up with a plan to do a promotional piece for the whole Bradford House and workings of the Bradford House Historical Association.”
White said the plan was not to tell the entire story of the museum but enough to entice people to visit.
The video can be found on the David Bradford House website at www.bradfordhouse.org and offers details about the museum, David Bradford, the Whiskey Rebellion and the Bradford House Museum Historical Association.
“It gives a little bit of insight about the Bradford House without exposing everything about the house,” White said.
White, 17, said he got the idea for the video while touring the museum.
“I was exploring ideas for my Eagle Scout project and landed on the Bradford House as a nonprofit organization that could benefit from one of my projects,” he said.
The Washington youth credited his half-brother Max Gould and Max’s wife, Monica, for their help in developing the video, as well as fellow members of Boy Scout Troop 1103 based in Washington.
“Calvin is the type of person that works quickly when he has something he’s really interested in putting together,” said Budinger, who appears in the video. “He’s definitely a tech guy, very intelligent, much more advanced in this field than I ever will be. He was able to enlist the help of friends and relatives into that territory. It was an interesting experience working with Calvin. I had ideas as to what I was looking for. What he produced was much, much better.”
White has no plans to pursue film as a career and has more of an interest in finance. He already is taking dual enrollment classes at Washington & Jefferson College.
The Eagle Scout presentation ceremony is scheduled for Nov. 1 at the Trinity Anglican Church.
White has a busy schedule along with his academic course load. He works as a bank teller at Chrome Federal Credit Union and also at the Olive Garden in Washington. He also serves as treasurer for the school’s chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America.
By the time he ends his Scouting career, White will have earned 139 Merit Scout
Badge. That number could increase to 141 if he attempts to earn two others – AI and cyber security – which were recently introduced.
White admitted to being proud of achieving Eagle Scout status.
“This is the culmination of 10 years of my life’s work,” he said. “Eagle Scout projects are always about leadership. Becoming a good leader is a very important step. In my opinion, it’s one of the most important steps in every young man’s life. We need good leaders in this world. If nobody steps up, then you just have a crowd of people. But if you have a good leader, then you have a team. I’ve done so many incredible things that I never would have thought about. All of that is a result of Scouting.”