Emerson Ball: Monroe teen’s Eagle Scout project is making bicycle riders safer

Written by Brad Durrell
Friday, 27 January 2012 02:00

Some youngsters and adults in Bridgeport will be safer when riding bicycles thanks to Emerson Ball, a Monroe Boy Scout.

Emerson, 17, collected and repaired bicycle helmets and donated them to a Bridgeport church for his Eagle Scout project. A total of 52 refurbished helmets, with new pads and some with new paint, were given to Golden Hill United Methodist Church.

The church has an ongoing program to give bikes to needy individuals, so Emerson thought the idea of also providing helmetsf made a lot of sense. The recipients include neighborhood children, youths who use bicycles to attend college classes, and halfway house residents who use bicycles to reach work sites.

Emerson has been a member of Troop 163 at St. Jude Church, and received his Eagle Scout rank — the highest in scouting — during a recent ceremony at St. Jude attended by about 120 family members, friends and fellow Scouts.

“I feel good about it,” Emerson said of his project. “It hadn’t really dawned on me what I had done until the ceremony.”

Jay Huggins, the troop’s scoutmaster, called Emerson “an exceptional Scout” who served as senior patrol leader, or the troop’s scout leader. “He served this role with skill and enthusiasm,” Huggins said. “He was able to run the troop meetings and make sure the outdoor activities were well planned.”

Phil Philbrick, assistant scoutmaster, said Emerson’s Eagle Scout project will make bike riding safer for needy children, youth and adults. “Not only did this fulfill a need but it spawned more donations — a new avenue — to keep the need for helmets satisfied,” Philbrick said.

Emerson collected the used helmets through friends, family and business locations. Only those that had intact frames were refurbished.

Scouting career

A senior at Fairfield Prep, he is the son of Julie and Dave Ball. He previously attended Jockey Hollow and Fawn Hollow schools.

Emerson first joined the Scouts when he was in the first grade. He said he has enjoyed participating in fun activities and learned many useful skills as a Scout, such as leadership, patience, being mindful of others, time management, and cooking.

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He has backpacked in New Mexico, canoed in Maine and climbed Mt. Washington, and will go sailing in the Florida Keys with the Scouts this summer. He is a captain on the Prep crew team. “I’ve made a lot of good bonds,” he said of scouting.

Emerson plans to stay active with the troop until he graduates from high school, and likely will become active again as an adult leader in the future. He plans to study architecture at college in the fall. His father is an architect.

Julie Ball said her son has been a dedicated Scout, noting he would have to leave an annual family vacation to join an out-of-state scout camping trip every summer.

Dave Ball said they are proud of Emerson’s accomplishment, noting his Eagle Scout project was “very much self-initiated. He took it on himself and remained focused.”

Emerson has an older and younger brother, both of whom have been involved in scouting.