Cai Clements is the recipient of the 2020 Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award for the Circle Ten Council’s 24-county service area. The council has submitted his project to the National Eagle Scout Association for further award consideration. He was presented his award the Council Annual Recognition Banquet held on March 25, 2021 at the Plano Event Centre.
For his Eagle Scout project, Cai cleaned cemetery grounds and restored approximately 125 veteran headstones/markers in the Valliant and Elliot cemeteries. The Valliant cemetery is the town cemetery for Valliant, OK. and many veterans and their families are buried there.
“I chose my Eagle Scout project because I was passionate about advocating for veteran headstone restoration and protection in my local cemetery. I observed the damage and weathered headstones in the cemetery, which is why I chose to do it,” says Cai.
Cai’s project also had historical significance as the Elliot cemetery was a segregated cemetery established around 1888; the people originally buried there were freed slaves. The cemetery is a glimpse into the history of our nation and the people that fought for it.
“I organized volunteers and spent over 3,000 hours cleaning and restoring headstones at the cemeteries and we ended up cleaning over 100 stones,” he said.
Last year, 777 Scouts in Circle Ten Council earned the rank of Eagle Scout, contributing 98,847 combined service hours through projects like Cai’s.
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