Out of the 16 million people who served in World War II, only 855,070 are alive today. That is a mere five percent of veterans from this war who can pass on their stories to younger generations. They should be consistently recognized and appreciated, and this is exactly what Nick Morrow hopes to achieve through his Eagle Scout Service Project.
Nick and his family have called Frisco their home for the past 12 years. “My favorite thing about Frisco is how everything is growing so fast, however, I wish they would keep some wildlife behind, but it is good to see such a small town grow to what it is today. It is amazing just to look at what Frisco was in 2010 vs. now. I remember when the Town Hall in Frisco Square was still under construction.” Currently, Nick is a junior at Wakeland High School where he participates in tech theatre. However, Nick’s biggest passion happens outside of school.
Nick began his journey in Boy Scouts through Cub Scouts just 10 years ago. “At first, it was something my parents encouraged me to do because I was always sitting around the house and not doing anything,” Nick notes, with a laugh. He assures that it did not take him very long to fall in love with the program once he began making new friends and embarking on exciting experiences. From conservation projects to adventure camps, the opportunities that Nick was allowed were widespread. This fueled his drive to continue in his commitment to where he is present day: on the cusp of becoming an Eagle Scout. “At first, it was just because people were telling me it would help me get a job and possibly scholarships,” Nick explains on his decision to become an Eagle Scout. “Then, I looked further into it and saw it would open up so many doors to new opportunities and would allow me to meet a lot of new people.”
Nick explains that becoming an Eagle Scout is no simple task. There are a lot of requirements that go into the process, including having 21 different merit badges (13 of which are Eagle required), successfully completing the Eagle Scouts Board of Review, obtaining a set number of community service hours, documenting a set number of camping hours and holding three different leadership positions within your own troop.
For the first of these leadership positions, Nick chose to serve as Den Chief. This position allowed him to go to a den of his choice and basically serve as an adult leader to the group by doing everything from creating meetings to helping with tasks. After fulfilling this role, Nick moved on to serve as Patrol Leader and then eventually Senior Patrol Leader. “This is both a very fun position to be in and a very difficult one,” Nick explains. As Senior Patrol Leader, Nick was the head leader of his group. In this position, he had to be careful to establish himself among his other troop members. He had to gain their respect since it was his responsibility to lead them.
There is still a very important aspect to the Eagle Scout initiation process that Nick has yet to complete, and that is his Eagle Scout Service Project. In order to achieve your Eagle rank, each Boy Scout must come up with their own idea for a project that will both showcase their leadership skills and benefit the community. Nick’s idea for this project originates back to the very beginning of his time in Boy Scouts.
“Back in Cub Scouts, I would always be around veterans when we participated in the community parade. I would talk to them and it was fun to listen to their stories,” Nick remembers. This passion that Nick held for World War II history has extended into present day, leading to the development of the idea for his Eagle Scout Service Project. Nick wanted to take his love for these veterans and put it to good use. After realizing how few veterans were left, specifically in the Frisco area, Nick began brainstorming how he could bring recognition to them through his project. After thinking it through, Nick decided that there was no better way to do this than through a statue. He knew that he was taking on a big task, but when it comes to Eagle Scout Service Projects, the bigger the better. “The statue will be a generic World War II veteran, rather than a specific person,” Nick shares.
Nick immediately began the planning stages of this project. It did not take him very long to figure out that there were several considerations necessary to this process. First and foremost, he had to decide on a location. Frisco citizens are probably familiar with the Veterans Memorial in Frisco Commons Park, making it the perfect destination for his statue. Nick’s initial idea to place the statue directly inside the memorial had to be slightly altered, due to the fact that the owners of the memorial took pride in how symmetrical it was. So that the statue could still be included in the memorial, they allowed for it to be placed a little further to the side, so that people would see it as they were walking up.
From there, Nick began the long process of getting approval. He began by levying the connections that he has developed through his time in Boy Scouts, such as his close relationship with Mayor Maher Maso. He soon found out, however, that even with these connections, this was going to be no easy task. “This is the first time I realized that this was going to take a lot longer than I thought,” explains Nick. He had to gain approval from the Community Development Corporation (CDC), the Urban Forestry Board, the Parks and Recreation Department, the American Legion, various different veterans groups, the mayor and the Frisco Garden Club. Even after getting a response, Nick would have to attend meetings to gain approval. It was from this approval process that Nick also received an important piece of information: how much this was going to cost.
The number was quite shocking. It would take Nick $25,000 to complete this grand statue. Since a big part of completing this project involves leading and delegating tasks to members of your troop, Nick utilized his troop members to help in this funding process. Although Nick has made leaps in progress, he still has a very long way to go. Anyone interested in contributing to Nick’s success can visit his GoFundMe page at gofundme.com/n5fr6pfw. Frisco STYLE will match donations of up to $1,000 to help Nick achieve success in his project.
Nick comes just a little closer to reaching his goal each and every day. There is even talk of holding an unveiling party, and Nick anxiously waits to see all of his hard work in a tangible result. Through his project, Nick wants to be an inspiration to other aspiring Eagle Scouts. “I hope to inspire other Scouts who are also doing an Eagle Scout Service Project to do the same thing, except with different periods of history, like the Korean War or the Vietnam War,” he shares. Nick hopes that, eventually, his statue becomes one of many to be featured at Frisco Commons Park.
Nick’s father, Gary Morrow, 
is a former Boy Scout and Scout Master himself. Mr. Morrow is, without a doubt, a proud
parent, as he has been able to see Nick grow and develop through the pursuit of his Eagle Project. “I watched a very young kid grow to be a very solid young man,” Mr. Morrow marvels. “His going through this Eagle Scout project is proof of his growth.”
After high school, Nick wants to go to Lincoln Tech for automotive maintenance and hopes to one day work for BMW. Eventually, he wants to start his own business and work on cars.
To every war veteran, Boy Scout and passerby, Nick’s statue will be an emblem of true ambition. He turned his passion for the recognition of World War II veterans into something that will greatly honor them. The dedication that Nick put forth in his Eagle Scout Service Project is plain proof that he will both excel as an Eagle Scout and as a person in his future endeavors.
