Logan Hamma, center, recently built 10 Wood Duck houses in Hancock County, Illinois en route to earning the rank of Eagle Scout. From left, Tom Schaefer, Jordan Cooper, Cole Norton, Isaac DuCharme, Austin Cooper and Cory Hamma helped Logan build the duck houses.
By Lindsay Steele
The Catholic Messenger
BURLINGTON — Logan Hamma, a junior at Burlington Notre Dame High School and a member of Sacred Heart Parish in Dallas City, Illinois, recently earned the rank of Eagle Scout.
Eagle Scout candidates must earn a minimum of 21 merit badges and successfully complete a service project. Logan, son of Cory and April Hamma, is the 125th Eagle Scout from Troop 3 of Burlington to earn this honor. Nationally, fewer than 6% of scouts attain Eagle rank.
For his project, Logan worked with the Dallas City Riverview Sportsmen to construct and install 10 Wood Duck houses in Hancock County, Illinois. “Many of their members are older and unable to complete this type of physical work,” Logan said. Wood Duck houses, or nesting boxes, help Wood Ducks and other cavity-nesting birds thrive in areas where natural habitats have become scarce (www.ducks.org).
Logan secured donations from The Riverview Sportsmen, the Dallas City Celebration Committee and the Dallas City Park Board, in addition to individual contributions. Logan’s fellow troop members, parents and grandparents helped with labor. “Scouts are taught to be conservation advocates, so I love to see projects like this,” said Dan Fell, Troop 3’s charter organization representative. “With Logan doing it, you can guarantee it was done very well.”
Logan has served in various troop leadership roles, participated in outdoor adventures and earned Ad Altare Dei, Parvuli Dei and Light of Christ emblems. He has a quiet approach and younger scouts look to him for guidance, said Byron Tatti, troop advancement chair. “He frequently will see that something needs to be done and just do it without waiting to be asked. We will always grab some younger scouts to work with him so he can mentor them and make sure they know what to do,” said Tatti, who served as Logan’s cubmaster. “It has been such a pleasure watching him grow into the person he is today.” In addition to scouting, Logan is an altar server at his parish and an extraordinary minister of holy Communion at Notre Dame.
“I appreciate all that I have learned through scouting,” Logan said. “While knots, lashings and survival skills are important, I believe the lessons of hard work and leadership are going to be my biggest take away from scouts. I’m especially grateful for the older scouts in my troop who set strong examples, both in what to do and, at times, what to avoid. Their guidance has shaped me into a better leader and Scout.”
