Woonsocket scout refurbishes parish hall stage
Cameron Duguay organizes clean-up, re-decoration effort at St. Agatha’s
WOONSOCKET – A parishioner who has grown up at St. Agatha Catholic Church, Cameron Duguay knew he had to do something when he saw that the stage at the church’s parish hall had become disorganized and fallen into disrepair over the years.
That’s when his years of scouting took over. Duguay, 16, a junior at Woonsocket High School and scout with Woonsocket’s Troop 2, restored and renovated the stage as his project to attain Eagle Scout status. “St. Agatha’s is my home parish. I’ve grown up in this parish, I’ve gone through everything through here and I just wanted to give back a little bit,” Duguay said. “We saw that stage and it was a crazy idea we had at first but it ended up being my project.”
“It was a grotesque stage. It was all messed up, disorganized, it was in use but it wasn’t very favorable to use at the time,” he continued. “The floors were dirty and everything was just a mess so I took the initiative.”
Duguay reached out to Rev. Michael A. Kelley, who responded to positively to the request. Duguay then held a variety of fundraisers, including a chicken pot pie dinner and an iPad Mini raffle. Those two major fundraisers alone netted approximately $2,200, Duguay said.
Duguay replaced the curtains, acquired new furniture, reorganized and cleaned the stage’s rear storage area, painted the back wall, donated a painting of the Last Supper, and acquired new American and Papal flags.
Kelley said that the church has a very active parish and the hall is used often for a wide range of activities, such as special parish events, yard sales, Christmas bazaars, or volunteer banquets.
“That stage area is used a lot,” Kelley said. “Things accumulate over the years with many activities, things were stored that were not being used. It had a lot of use.”
Kelley called the refurbished stage area “a renewal of everything.”
“It makes me very happy … When I was first presented with the idea, I was pleasantly surprised. I said this would be wonderful for the whole parish,” he added.
When Kelley looks at the finished product, he says “I think it’s d very nice. It’s everything we hoped t it would be … I was very pleased that Cameron took the initiative to do this.”
Duguay completed the project last October and a month later he went before a board review with representatives from the troop and the Boy Scouts council, where he passed into Eagle Scout status. Duguay celebrated becoming an f Eagle Scout at a ceremony d Saturday in which he received his badge.
For Duguay, Saturday’s ceremony was the culmination of a yearslong journey through troops and scout rankings.
He started scouting in fifth grade after a friend who was involved would tell him about camping trips. r Duguay said he “took a different approach” and sent a letter to a scoutmaster asking if he could join.
“I didn’t know you could just go up to him and say ‘I’d like to join,’” Duguay said with a laugh.
Duguay joined Troop 59 East Blackstone, where he was for a handful of years. However, he said the troop was “different than the troop I’m in now … It was a little more to- the- bone environment.” Duguay’s cousin then introduced him to Troop 2 Woonsocket, which he joined when he was 13.
“It was a little friendlier and closer to home … It was very welcoming,” he said of Troop 2. “It was a lot of camping trips that are always fun, we did have some serious times but there was always times for games like Frisbee, which I’m a fanatic about. A lot of them are just fun to hang around.”
Duguay has seen scouting both as a new scout looking up to his elders and as a senior scout leading the younger troops.
“It’s definitely more of a challenge to be one of those older scouts now. I was a little irresponsible back then, I’d say a lot of people were … But then all of a sudden, I’m 16 and I’m one of the oldest scouts in the troop.”
“I’m one of the youngest making Eagle Scout in this troop, but it’s definitely more of a challenge,” he continued. “I have to show my initiative, I have to be a role model for the younger scouts now,” noting that 80 percent of the troops are age 13 and under.
Duguay continued: “I was very involved when I was a younger scout but I’ll try to go as best I can to give back to what the older scouts when I was a new scout gave to me and be that role model that they were to me.”