Ellie the Eagle Scout: An Art Project for the Whole City
PART TWO OF A TWO-PART SERIES ON BRAND NEW MURALS DEBUTING IN VANCOUVER
In February of 2019, Boy Scouts of America overturned a century of tradition by allowing girls to enter their organization and renaming their teen program Scouts BSA. Ellie S., a current senior at Vancouver iTech Preparatory, was one of those girls. She had watched her younger brother participate in scouts for many years and jumped at the opportunity to participate when it became available to her. Ellie joined at the age of 15, and rules require scouts to earn scouting’s highest rank, Eagle, before turning 18. In just two short years, Ellie worked to earn each merit badge, leadership position and recommendation from superiors to meet the deadline. Shortly, she will become one of roughly 1,000 female Eagle Scouts in the United States. The culminating Eagle Project is the final step in this process and Ellie’s is something everyone in Clark County can enjoy.
Honoring Heritage
“I knew that I wanted to do something that would leave a mark,” Ellie told me about the planning process for her Eagle Scout project. “I had met Mayor Anne McEnery-Ogle [of Vancouver] at a couple previous scouting events so I decided to reach out to her to see if she has any ideas or connections. Coincidentally, the Mayor had been also thinking of the next mural project for the city.” City leaders were seeking to represent the Native American culture of our region, so the Mayor put Ellie in touch with Clark County Mural Society (CCMS). They were more than happy to partner with her and help bring the plan to fruition. The location for the mural was to be a sound barrier wall on the west side of Interstate 5, near the Fourth Plain Boulevard exit. CCMS had talked for years about placing a mural on a highway to both beautify the city as well as combat graffiti. Artist Guy Drennan, a long-time partner with the society, was up to the task.
Read the rest of this article in the full digital issue below.
Go here to read Part 1 in our series on brand new murals debuting in Clark County.
