From STAFF REPORTS
ARABI — After 11 years in scouting, 17-year-old Matthew Lingefelt will soon qualify for the organization's highest honor, Eagle Scout.
Lingefelt has been working many years to become an Eagle Scout, acquiring different merit badges along the way such as First Aid and Swimming.
The final requirement, which he recently completed, was his community service project. To complete this, he reached out to a local organization, the Friends of the Cordele Carnegie Library.
Friends of the Library accept donations of used books, which they then resell at their monthly used book sale. These monies are then used to purchase new books for library patrons to enjoy and to fund various projects.
To facilitate the sale, the used book section, located on the lower level of the library, needed sturdier bookshelves to hold and display the donated books.
For his Eagle project, Lingefelt decided to construct and donate bookcases for this area, first to complete his Eagle project, and to say "Thank you from the Boy Scouts" to this important organization dedicated to literacy in the community.
To complete this project, Matthew enlisted the help of friends, family and fellow members of Troop 270. They spent a total of 94 hours on the project, dedicating many nights and weekends to its completion.
On Jan. 13, the first bookcase was delivered to the library, and Ms. Lori Holloway, president of the Friends of the Cordele Carnegie Library, accepted the bookshelf on behalf of the organization.
Lingefelt is the son of Robert and Michele Lingefelt of Arabi. He is a home-school student, and in the future, he plans to attend South Georgia Technical College and help out at Troop 270 as an adult leader.
