District News
This Boy Scout is always prepared
Imagine waking up to feel your room shaking. Things fall on the floor and shatter. The lights go dark, and the Internet and phones are dead. Quick! What do you do?
Eagle Scout and Nathan Hale High School senior Alexander Beaumont knows. He abides by the Boy Scout motto, “Be prepared.”
Beaumont is the kind of guy you want around in case of an emergency. Known to his friends as “Xander,” this young man was awarded the American Red Cross Hero Award for Youth Service in Action.
It all started when Beaumont and his dad met with Frank Gaul, Chairman of the Emergency Preparedness Committee of the Magnolia-Interbay-Queen Anne District Council. Their goal was to brainstorm possible Eagle Scout projects. Gaul needed volunteers to help run emergency radio communications in Queen Anne in the event of a disaster.
Beaumont enlisted the help of his fellow scouts of Troop 72 to make an instructional video, got the entire troop trained on how to use a ham radio to transmit emergency communications and worked with the Seattle Office of Emergency Management in four citywide practice drills. He then went on to organize booths at community events such as the Queen Anne farmers’ market to make sure his neighbors knew about the emergency communications plan.
After the project was over, some Boy Scouts would have collected their badge and moved on. Not “Xander,” as he’s known to his friends. His interest was sparked and there was no stopping him.
As a member of the social media generation, he knew precisely how to engage a wider audience in his pursuit to educate. Beaumont went on Facebook and created a page - Be Prepared MIQA - devoted to helping those living in Magnolia, Interbay and Queen Anne. The page helps residents understand their neighborhood disaster plans and how to access emergency communications.
He even decided to create emergency preparedness kits for his family and neighbors. The backpacks contain many emergency staples such as 16 water packets, two food rations, one first-aid kit and one flashlight, among other things.
“It’s really cool to be a teenager and have a whole community want to turn to you,” said Beaumont.
He and the other winners were honored at the 16th annual King County Heroes Breakfast on March 27, at the Washington State Convention Center. The breakfast honored “the tradition of heroism by recognizing local individuals whose extraordinary acts make them a hero.” Click on the link to watch a 3-minute video produced by the American Red Cross from the Heroes Breakfast or click on the video below.
“Alexander signed up to be the first responder of first responders,” said his father, Brian Beaumont. “And he’s blazing a trail for others to follow.”
Story by Rachel Sanyal/Seattle Public Schools