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NATCHEZ — Troop 168’s Brent Warren celebrated the completion of his final project on his way to receiving his Eagle Scout badge.

Eagle Scout is the highest attainable rank in the Scouts of America program. To become Eagle Scouts, Scouts must first complete a community service project after completing all the merit badges in the lower ranks.

Brent, a Cathedral School graduate, completed his service project in December 2024, just days before his 18th birthday, his grandfather and scoutmaster, Ricky Warren, said.

His project was to put up a flagpole at the Briarwood Church of Christ in honor of all veterans of the church, which was dedicated on Wednesday just after Memorial Day weekend with a brief ceremony involving all of the Troop 168 members outside the church.

The hardest part was not pouring the concrete and digging out a place for the base frame or mounting the flagpole itself, Brent said. “It was probably planting all of the rose bushes,” which are lined up, perfectly measured out in equal distances on either side of the pole, he said.

Brent is a third-generation Eagle and has been running with the Scouts since he was three years old. His dad, Brian Warren, the son of Scoutmaster Ricky Warren, received his Eagle Scout rank in 1993.

To help him complete his Eagle Scout project, Brent received the sponsorship of the Natchez chapter of Woodmen Life, a non-profit organization with a focus on community service, said spokesperson Jenny Cloy. The Natchez Chapter meets monthly at Sportsman Fish & Grill at 1598 Carter Street in Vidalia, Louisiana.