Visitors to Massanutten Military Academy (the school I attend) are occasionally confused as to where to go on the campus. This is particularly the case when major events such as the Woodstock 250th Anniversary Ball, the Shenandoah County Memorial Day Commemorative Ceremony, Parents Weekend or Homecoming are held. My project would be to construct an outdoor bulletin board structure to provide a place for announcements, maps, and schedules to be posted. 

My dad and I took our dog to one of the Arlington Virginia “Dog Parks” where she could run free and play with other dogs. My dad noticed the outdoor bulletin board that was there that provided park regulations, locations of other parks, news, and schedules. He commented how it would have been nice to have an equivalent structure up at Massanutten Military Academy to provide information to campus visitors. Thus was born the idea for my Eagle Project

Due to the logistics of being at a boarding school, my dad and I prefabricated the parts for the bulletin board at our house on the weekends of September 20th and October 4th. One complication was Hurricane Isabel’s coming through September 18th. Fortunately we had power at our house that first weekend after the storm.  (There are benefits to living close to the power feed for the Pentagon)

The morning dawned bright and clear. We loaded up Dad’s pickup truck with the prefabricated parts, and my BMW with tools and drove up to MMA, arriving about 8 am. Dad had previously brought up 20 bags of concrete and gravel. By the time this picture was taken we had unloaded all of the parts and many of the tools.

Before the rest of Troop 88 arrived we laid out the site. This is in effect the "before" picture. You can see the two 2x4s that marked where the holes needed to be dug.

One team got to work digging 2 holes, about 12 inches in diameter and at least 4' deep. This was definitely the hardest part of the project.

A second team got to work assembling the prefabricated parts, roof, and applying shingles to the roof

Once the assembly was complete and the holes were dug, the next task was to raise the structure and place it into the holes. After that we placed gravel and concrete to hold it in place.

I wish to express my thanks to the Troop 88 team that helped me with my project

After the structure has aged for at least 3 months, the school plans to paint or stain it white to match the other signs on campus. 

The structure is designed to accommodate a standard 60” wide, 48" high commercial lockable metal bulletin board. Hopefully the school, alumni association, or other organization is able to provide necessary funding (~$750)