Sixteen-year-old Sean Parrish of Albrightsville has achieved the high rank of Eagle Scout after completing his project at the firehouse of Penn Forest Township Volunteer Fire Company No. 1.

A member of Boy Scout Troop 555, Parrish was attending a regular troop meeting at the firehouse, which hosts the troop, when the need for a storage space was brought to his attention."They were doing renovations and needed a place to store some stuff," Parrish recalled.He volunteered to build a large shed behind the firehouse where the extra supplies could be stored to make room for an emergency shelter.The project totalled about 181 hours of manual labor, spanning three months. It cost about $1,600 and was paid for through the troop's fundraising efforts and donations from local businesses.Local contractor and Scout father Darrel Otto assisted Parrish, along with his own parents and several other Scouts from his troop."It depended on who could make it when, but a lot of people helped out." Parrish recalled.Parrish constructed the shed, painted, and shingled it, and helped to move the supplies out of the firehouse to their new home.Eagle Scout projects are typically aimed at giving back to the community in which the Scout lives. Since the troop regularly meets at the fire station, it made the project more personal to Parrish.Having been in the Scouting program since the age of 6, Parrish says he joined because he admired his older brother, Kyle, who had become a Scout before him, and is also an Eagle Scout."I wanted to be like my brother" Parrish remarked.Parrish picked up a lot of life skills along his journey to becoming an Eagle Scout, including survival skills as well as practical skills, and now skills for carpentry and leadership.When asked if he would recommend Scouting to other boys, Parrish says "Do it. It takes a lot of work to get through Scouting, but its worth it in the end."Parrish is the son of Fred and Laura Parrish of Albrightsville. He is a junior at Jim Thorpe Area High School and plans to go to college for music."I hope to stay with the Scouts until I go to college, but I don't have much time left," Parrish.Parrish will be celebrating his achievement in an Eagle Scout Court of Honor Ceremony, along with two of his fellow Scouts, on Oct. 24, at Christ Lutheran Church in Penn Forest Township.