Jason Champion earns Eagle Scout rank

Jason Champion was awarded the prestigious Eagle Scout rank at a ceremony at the Left Hand Grange Dec. 12.

Champion, a member of Troop 161 B of the Boy Scouts of America, has been involved in scouting for the past six years. His Eagle Scout project was to make improvements to Whistle Stop Park in Niwot, where Champion has volunteered for several years as a member of the Gargoyles, who man the recycle and compost stations at the Rock & Rails summer concert series and retrieve traffic control devices at the end of the concerts.

Champion worked his way up to a leadership position with the Gargoyles, where his sister Miranda now serves. When it came time to select a service project on his Eagle Scout journey, Champion contacted representatives of the Niwot Cultural Arts Association (NCAA), which owns the park.

At the time, the Depot building had just been completed at the park, and Champion took on the task of installing shelving in the new facility for storage. "We relocated items to the new shelving and discarded trash and unused supplies," Champion wrote in his project description.

The main aspect of his project involved improving the grounds at the park near the Depot building. The construction of the Depot building had left the surrounding area in need of revegetation. "We prepped the ground around the new building and 4200 square feet of sod," he said.

Champion and the 35 scouts he organized to help with the project worked efficiently. "I created five groups to help plant sod and move the items from storage, creating group leaders who I oversaw and assisted," he said. "With everyone's incredible teamwork, we were able to finish planting the grass and moving the items in less time than we expected, under three hours."

The project was completed on May 1, 2021, and the grassed area has proven popular with concert-goers, who regularly gather near the Depot building to enjoy the concerts.

At the ceremony, Champion thanked those who had helped him on his scouting journey, including Scoutmaster Ryan Thompson and Satir DeMarco from the NCAA, who serves as emcee of the concert series.

Along his Eagle Scout path, Champion earned many merit badges. His favorite was the First Aid merit badge, "It is an important life skill that I know will benefit me in the future," he said. "I also had a great experience completing this with my friends with tons of laughs, making it one of the most memorable Eagle badges I earned."

Champion, a senior at Niwot High School, plans to attend CU-Boulder and earn a degree in business or finance. He is the son of Jay and Dianne Champion of Niwot.