Eagle Scout Stephen Luna completes the last step of his Eagle project with a dedication ceremony at the Hays High School outdoor learning area he created for his campus. A mounted plaque at the site memorializes the late Dave Akard and Landon Nicholas, counselor and teacher, respectively, at the campus. Joining Luna at the celebration are (left to right) Troop 112’s Charles Byfield, Assistant Scoutmaster Michael Frame, Luna, Scoutmaster Paul Mayhew and James Burkes. (Photo by Jim Cullen)
by JIM CULLEN
Hays High School senior Stephen Luna is a Scout – in fact, he is a recently promoted Eagle Scout. The final piece of the challenging puzzle that qualifies Scouts for that highest rank is the requirement that they envision, plan, and implement a community service project. Luna’s project created a new outdoor learning area at his campus, tucked into a previously unused corner of the school, complete with picnic tables and accompanying landscaping.
The practical side of the just-dedicated site is obvious. It’s located outside, just off the back door of the Rebels’ library and will provide a place for students to read and work in the fresh air. But the component of the study area that will always carry the most significance for many future visitors has nothing to do with the tables or the landscaping. It has to do with a small plaque that’s mounted on the building’s wall, overlooking the area.
Enhancing the study area is the plaque reading, “In Memory of Dave Akard, Counselor, and Landon Nicholas, Teacher; May they live on through the lives they touched.” In a brief dedication ceremony recently, Luna, his family, and the family and friends of Landon Nicholas and Dave Akard gathered to remember the two Hays High staffers who both died within the past 18 months.
Luna gathered fellow Scouts one weekend last May to construct the outdoor learning environment, including James Burkes, Michael Wenzel, Joshua DeLong, Chris Salas, Charles Byfield, Cruz Rizo, Caroline Salas and Luke Rizo.
Byfield and Burkes served as Color Guard for the September dedication ceremony, where Tami Nicholas, speaking for her family, told the group how much it meant to them for her late husband to be memorialized. Rob Kenyon, a longtime friend of Dave Akard, spoke for him and noted his ever-present smile, saying “he always cared about the students.”
Luna is the son of Michael and Laura Frame of Buda.
