By Amy Vu and Kaitlyn Ngo, Staff Writers
For his Eagle Scout Service Project, Tanner Grohmann (‘18) has constructed a message board dedicated to reporting important track and field information.
Grohmann first decided upon building the message board for the track team three years ago. After he talked to Coach Bivens about the idea, his innovative project took three years of planning and several months of building.
The newly constructed message board will function as a kiosk where coaches can post important information about track meets, results, times, and events. Grohmann hopes that it’ll be useful in providing the track team a location to post information.
Grohmann first heard of the idea of a message board from other schools during track meets and was also inspired by a message board at Holy Spirit Church that was done by another boy scout.
As a student who is part of the varsity cross country team and track team, Grohmann wanted to leave a lasting impact for the future runners of Fountain Valley High School. This desire led him to make the choice to build a track message board that he believed would be a better place to post track results instead of displaying them on the fence.
Tanner Grohmann’s father, Coach Bivens, and Mr. Marion encouraged the building of the project because they saw the advantages in having a board dedicated to making track announcements.
“I was inspired by my dad, Mr. Marion, and Coach Bivens because they all really encouraged me to do the project because they like the idea and thought the track could use something to make it look more modern and sophisticated,” said Grohmann.
The process of constructing the new message board was a lengthy task as Grohmann had to purchase all the materials for the board to ensure it could withstand years of use. Building the board step by step, he was proud to finally accomplish the task he had set three years ago. He notes how the project was long and tedious but worth it in the end.
Members of the cross country team, friends from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and boy scouts in Grohmann’s troop aided in the completion of the track message board. However, before their combined efforts, Grohmann had to plan and purchase the right amount of materials needed.
A weakness that Grohmann noticed in his Eagle Project is that his message board only benefits the track team and not other sports teams. However, he is open to other sports utilizing the board as long as Coach Bivens allows it.
To commemorate Tanner Grohmann for his efforts in constructing the board, there will be a plaque on the project stating his name, the year the board was built, and a list of the organizations that aided in the success of the project.
Grohmann advises people to “always help around their community and especially if they are boy scouts. Do a project that’s not just [one] you can get done, and receive the award. They should be proud of it, so when they come back to look at the project, they’ll be amazed that they accomplished their goal.”
Grohmann’s hard efforts in the project are sure to leave an everlasting mark on FVHS.
