February 22, 2020 – West Bend, WI – Simon Weinandt received his Eagle Scout pin during an Eagle Scout Court of Honor ceremony for Scouts BSA Troop 762. The celebration was in the old gym at St. Mary’s Immaculate Conception in Barton.
Following the posting of the colors and an invocation by Rev. Andrew Infanger, Weinandt, 18, was praised for his leadership, love of the outdoors, and his dedication to scouts.
Weinandt was featured in an article in November 2019 when there was a special blessing for his Eagle Scout project. He built 14 Stations of the Cross in the park across from St. Mary’s Immaculate Conception Parish in Barton.
The 14 Stations feature a stone base, a large wooden cross and a series of bronze images “portraying events in the Passion of Christ from his condemnation by Pontius Pilate to his entombment.
“The most challenging part was not at all in the building, but it was in the planning,” said Weinandt. “People are eager for it to be used.”
A scout since he was 6 years old, Weinandt sports a tan sash crowded with 48 merit badges. “Wilderness survival is probably the one I’m most proud of,” he said. “I got that in my first year in scouts and it was one I really wanted because you have to build your own shelter in the woods and start fires.”
Chess and music making are two other merit badges that rank high on his list of accomplishments. Earning the highest rank of Eagle Scout was also one of his goals. “There’s a saying that only two-percent of people make it to Eagle Scout,” Weinandt said. “But I had a standard that was set by my dad, brother Spencer, uncle and cousin; they all achieved it and I wanted to too. 
During the Eagle Scout ceremony Weinandt’s parents participated in swapping out his red neckerchief for a royal blue neckerchief with red and white trim.
Weinandt will be attending tech college in Red Wing, Minnesota where he will study to be a luthier; a maker of string instruments like violin, bass, and cello.
“This field brings together my love for music as well as my need to do something with my hands,” he said.
