Evan Franklin, a 16-year-old sophomore at Parkersburg Catholic High School, rappels down the repelling tower at Camp Kootaga. Franklin is open to trying new things and challenging himself. (Photo Provided)

PARKERSBURG — Evan Franklin is always looking for a challenge and the chance to do a good turn for someone else.

The 16-year-old sophomore at Parkersburg Catholic High School is involved in Boy Scout Troop 20 (in Vienna) as well as the Parkersburg Catholic High School tennis team.

“My parents wanted me to try it when I was younger and I have been doing it ever since,” he said of doing both Cub Scouts as a part of Cub Scout Pack 129 and later as a part of Boy Scouts where he currently holds the rank of Second-Class and has around 10 merit badges.

“I like the outdoor activities at Camp Kootaga,” he said of experiencing repelling off the repelling tower at the camp. “It is more about the experiences for me.

“I am learning a lot of things by doing Scouts.”

Evan Franklin, a 16-year-old sophomore at Parkersburg Catholic High School, likes to read, learn and problem solve. He is a part of Boy Scout Troop 20 in Vienna. Scouting has provided Franklin with a lot of outdoor experiences and leadership skills. (Photo Provided)

One of the biggest things he has taken away from his Scouting experience has been leadership skills.

“I have had to fill in quite a few times in leadership positions when I wasn’t ready,” Franklin said of being one of the older Scouts and filling in when the Senior Patrol Leader or Patrol leaders aren’t there.

“I try to make the best decisions, but I don’t always,” Franklin said of the learning process in developing his leadership skills. “One of the most important things I have learned is leadership skills and cooperating with other people.”

Franklin has described himself as an independent person and through his Scouting experiences he has learned to work as part of a team.

“Since I have been in Scouts I have been more group oriented,” he said.

Evan Franklin, a member of Boy Scout Troop 20, speaks before the Cub Scouts of Pack 129 at Washington United Methodist Church as he recently organized a food drive for the church’s God’s Bounty Food Pantry with the Cub Scouts’ help. (Photo Provided)

Franklin recently held a successful food drive that benefited the God’s Bounty Food Pantry at the Washington United Methodist Church. He organized the food drive after hearing how many families in the community utilized the food pantry each month.

“It is hard for me to imagine everyone not having enough to eat,” he said. “It would be horrible.

“It’s important that everyone has enough to eat and that’s why this food drive is so important because it is going to help families right here in our community.”

Franklin went and spoke to the Cub Scouts in his old pack about doing this food drive as one of the points in the Scout Law which says that a Scout is “helpful” and the Scout slogan reminds Scouts to “do a good turn daily.”

Cub Scout Pack 129 is based out of Washington UMC and Franklin wanted the younger Scouts to be able to help do something for their local community.

Evan Franklin, a 16-year-old sophomore at Parkersburg Catholic High School, has been involved with his school’s tennis team for the last couple of years. Joining the team was something he wanted to try as he is open to new challenges and being able to learn. (Photo Provided)

Franklin and the Cub Scouts from Cub Scout Pack 129 distributed 125 grocery bags to homes in the Washington Bottom area, requesting items needed to stock the shelves of the food pantry in mid-November and on Saturday, Nov. 22, they picked up the grocery bags, even in adverse weather conditions with rain and wind. They delivered the items back to the God’s Bounty Food Pantry and sorted them.

During the food drive, they were able to collect almost 800 non-perishable food items to fill the shelves for the coming months to help out families in the Lubeck, Washington and Belleville communities as the pantry is open every third Saturday of each month.

“I can not imagine not having enough to eat,” Franklin said. “I cannot imagine being a person that doesn’t have enough and has to worry about their next meal or if they will even have it.

“I wanted to be able to do something.”

Franklin is looking to the future and considering going into a career involved in cybersecurity. He is looking at a new program at Marshall University that will be ready by the time he is college bound.

Evan Franklin, a member of Boy Scout Troop 20 in Vienna, with some of the Cub Scouts from Cub Scout Pack 129 after a recent food drive organized by Franklin where they collected around 800 non-perishable food items to benefit the God’s Bounty Food Pantry at the Washington United Methodist Church. (Photo Provided)

“It involves a lot of problem solving and I like solving problems,” he said.

Problem solving is a form of learning.

“Learning is one of my favorite things to do,” Franklin said.

He is involved in his school activities such as being on the school’s tennis team for two or three years.

“I just decided I wanted to try it out,” he said. “I have stuck with it ever since.”

Evan Franklin, a 16-year-old sophomore at Parkersburg Catholic High School, rappels down the tower at Camp Kootaga. Franklin has been involved in Scouting for a number of years and enjoys the outdoor activities as well as developing his leadership skills. (Photo Provided)

With Quiz Bowl he specializes in Catholic history and World War II history.

“Those are some of my favorite subjects,” he said. “One of my favorite hobbies is reading.”

He enjoys reading historical fiction and non-fiction. His favorite subjects in school are English, coding and history.

Coding appeals to him because it is a lot of problem solving.

“I can’t stand having an unsolved problem,” he said.

Through Scouting and his other activities he is always trying new things and having new challenges to meet while learning about the world around him and about himself.

“It is a once in a lifetime experience,” Franklin said.

Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com

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