Morganton, NC – The Burke County Chamber of Commerce interviewed Ryan Kennedy, rising senior of Model Secondary School for the Deaf in Washington, DC, regarding his Eagle Scout project on Saturday, June 18th, in Morganton at the History Museum of Burke County.

“I was thinking about what I needed to do, so I contacted a few people in our community,” Ryan Kennedy said. “I contacted a woman from the Daughters of the American Revolution and they suggested I do a flag retirement box because the community really needs that.”

Kennedy, along with the rest of Troop 889 built and painted two flag retirement boxes. One of the boxes has been placed in the Service Center of ACE Hardware in Morganton, and the other box is at the History Museum of Burke County. These boxes are there for anyone in the community to deposit worn flags so that they can be honored and retired responsibly. “There are several flags that people would bring to the camporee,” said Kennedy. “We would have to cut out the stars and we would give those to all the vets that were in the audience. We retired the flag, burned it and had a celebration. It really influenced me to do this project.”

Those who attended the installation at the History Museum of Burke County included Troop 899 Scouts and Leaders, along with their friends and family. Also in attendance were beneficiaries, volunteers, and ASL interpreters.  “I hope everyone will make great use of this and will appreciate the design,” states Kennedy.

All of those involved in this project and installation included:

Troop 889 Scouts: Ryan, Ashley, Ben, Erik, Grayden, Greg, Joseph, Kyler, Maleke, Mason M., Mason B., Zachary

Troop 889 Leaders: William Brooks, Miguel Johnston, Bryan Kennedy – Father, Jason Middlecamp, Paul Vanover, Geoff Waddell – Scoutmaster

Beneficiaries, Volunteers, and Participants: Scott Campbell – Morganton ACE Hardware, Jenna Cole – Burke County Chamber of Commerce, Terry Duckworth – History Museum of Burke County, Bob Farrington, Michele Fugate – History Museum of Burke County, Waits Gordon – History Museum of Burke County, Lisa Kennedy – Mother, Patricia Kennedy – Grandmother, Andrea Kiser, Joshua Parham – Morganton ACE Hardware, Betty Riddle – Grandmother, Cindy Riddle – Aunt, Guy Riddle – Uncle, James Setzer, Claude Sitton – History Museum of Burke County, Eli Smith – Cousin, Tonia Stephenson – Burke County Chamber of Commerce, Kaylee Sweet – Girlfriend, Lisa Wall – Morganton News Herald

ASL Interpreters: Jessica Hollifield, Sandy Dover

To watch the full interview with Kennedy, visit the Burke County Chamber of Commerce YouTube channel. For more information, call 828-437-3021 or email [email protected]
Troop 889 pictured with a flag retirement drop-off box