“It was a difficult project from an engineering standpoint,” said Tony Ferraro, Eagle coordinator for Boy Scout Troop 974. “You’ve got a platform 20 feet above the ground and obviously it has to be structurally sound.”
It helps that Vanden Eynden’s father is an engineer, which made it easier to figure out the necessary calculations, including what size to make the foundation, the type of wood to be used and how to cross-brace the project.
Once the project started, Vanden Eynden, a Liberty Twp. resident, handled initial construction at his father’s shop at work and assembled the pre-cut pieces at the site under his father’s supervision. He also recruited help over the course of about 12 days from several adults and dozens of students.
Construction of the platform required Vanden Eynden to get drawings of the project approved by a licensed professional engineer and obtain a zoning permit from the Liberty Twp. Zoning Commission.
Vanden Eynden said he isn’t the first in his family to carry out an Eagle Scout project at Lakota East. His older brother Kyle did the same four years ago.
“Because of my connection through scouting with my older brother and because of my connection with the music program, doing something for the band was just something that I had dreamed of because they did so much for me that I wanted to give back to them,” he said. “I thought an Eagle Project would be a great place to do that.”
The new tower “fills a huge void” for Lakota East Marching Band because it provides more platform space than its 15-foot-tall steel predecessor, according to Rob Tanis, director of bands for the school.
That extra space allows all seven people on band staff to observe practice, not just one or two, Tanis said.
“The old one didn’t allow for easy access,” he said. “You literally were taking your life into your hands every time you climbed it.”
Tanis said he never dreamed in a million years that Vanden Eynden would come up with an idea like that “because the scale of it is just monumental.”
“It’s definitely a permanent fixture and something we look forward to using for many, many years,” he said. “He hit a home run with this project.”
Suzanna Davis, principal at Lakota East, said the tower is a welcome upgrade and that she is proud Vanden Eynden chose the school as a way of combining his passions of scouting and marching band and to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout.
“As you look around this area, that scaffolding … is pretty traditional in terms of band towers and I think that Caleb just took it to another level and has created an observation platform that can only help strengthen our music program for all students,” Davis said.
Ferraro, who also is a member of Fort Hamilton district Eagle team, said he has a lot of experience with Eagle Scout projects and that Vanden Eynden’s tower is “within the top 10 percent” of projects that he’s seen because of its complexity and the hours it took to assemble.
“There aren’t too many more (projects) that reach that level,” he said.
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