Virginia Beach, Va. – Joshua Miller, a 17-year-old Eagle Scout from Virginia Beach, was awarded the 2024 Scouting America Tidewater Council Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year. He is a member of Scouts BSA Troop 504, chartered by CBS, LLC, a commercial property management company.

One of Joshua Miller’s teachers made quite an impression on him in first grade. Flash forward to 2023. The Green Run Collegiate senior found a way to give back to that teacher, Brandon Lugo, now principal at Diamond Springs Elementary. The 17-year-old helped build outdoor learning spaces for his Eagle Scout project at his former teacher’s school.

Lugo was impressed when Joshua asked, “What can we do for your school?” “We threw around some ideas on improving some of the dull, bland, and older-looking areas,” Lugo said. They decided the project would involve turning logs into outdoor stools placed in circles for students to have unique and fun spaces to learn outside.

Planning for the project began about two years ago. Joshua made a list of supplies and posted a wish list online at Amazon. The response from friends, family members, and the community was great. He estimated the donations, including chainsaws, sandpaper, sealant, and a first-aid kit, were valued at about $750. That included a shed for the courtyard to store supplies.

The main items needed were logs. Dom’s Cheapscapes and Tree Service came through and dropped oak logs at Joshua’s house. Friends, family, and his fellow Troop 504 members worked most of the day cutting logs in the Millers’ yard. They sanded the logs and added a sealant for durability. Even Papa John’s joined in, donating pizza for the volunteers.

A couple of days later, the logs were delivered to the school. Joshua’s crew of more than 20 arrived and got to work. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the beginning of the school year to celebrate the new learning spaces, now enjoyed by many of the almost 500 pre-kindergarteners through first graders and their teachers at Diamond Springs Elementary. Joshua’s mother said her son’s efforts have sparked others to plan for more improvements to the area, including butterfly and sensory gardens.

His project has been submitted to the Scouting America Council Service Territory 15 as Tidewater Council’s Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year. He was honored at the Scouting America Tidewater Council Recognition Banquet on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, at the Khedive Shrine Center in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Special thanks to Cindy Focke for her contributions to this story.