Joseph Ponesse, a member of Troop 28 of the Greater Hudson Valley Council of the Boy Scouts of America, aimed to make a difference for one local middle school through his Eagle Scout project.  While a Life Scout, the Eagle candidate must plan, develop and give leadership to others in a service project helpful to an organization outside of Scouting.  The project must be approved by the Scoutmaster, the Troop’s Committee and by the local Council or District.
 

Ponesse, a senior at Newburgh Free Academy, dedicated his Eagle Scout project to renovating the cross country trail at Heritage Middle School in New Windsor.  When it came time to plan his project, Ponesse, a baseball player/wrestler and former student of HMS, knew he wanted to do something to benefit other athletes. The trail which was established in 2019 became unsafe for runners after it became ruinous during the COVID 19 pandemic. Ponesse worked with NECSD Buildings and Grounds, Anibal Velez and Cross Country Coach Chris Marino for the project.  After months of planning, which included tips from builders and engineers, he put his plan into action in August 2021. The trail which was in great disrepair was cleared of debris and tree branches.  Volunteers also built a natural bridge for a stream on the trail and built a sign for the trail. The project proved to be more difficult due to the inclement weather conditions when Tropical Storm Henri came through the region in August 2021. While the bulk of the project took three days to complete, Ponesse had to wait for the wood to cure before he could build the sign for the trail. He put the finishing touches on his Eagle Scout service project on May 1, 2022. 

 Ponesse is grateful to his donors John Martin, Jake Bibosky of American Bridge,  Brett Krumpholc from Home Depot, Devitt’s Nursery, Lynn Warren of Lynn Warren Landscaping, Leif Syvertsen of Leif Signs and Anthony Ponesse.  He is also thankful of his fellow Scouts, family, and friends for their time and effort in completing this renovation project.

 Ponesse advanced to Eagle Scout on September 14, 2022.  He completed 38 merit badges (17 more than is required to earn the rank of Eagle) and had over 250 community service hours since crossing over into Boy Scouts in February 2016.  

 Joseph is the son of Steve and Dawn Ponesse of New Windsor.  He is a honors student at Newburgh Free Academy.  Joe has served as the Troop’s Scribe, Historian, Chaplain’s Aide and Web Master.  

 Troop 28 is chartered by the Kings of Kings Lutheran Church in New Windsor.  Since its recharting in 1993, Troop 28 has had 47 Scouts ascend to the rank of Eagle. The Troop anticipates 4-5 additional scouts to achieve the rank of Eagle this year.  For more information about Troop 28, please visit Boy Scout Troop 28 (New Windsor, New York) Homepage (scoutlander.com).