A recent graduate of Red Bank Regional High School has obtained the rank of Eagle Scout after helping to improve the day care he attended.
Kent Hottmann, a Shrewsbury resident and member of Troop 50, was honored as an Eagle Scout at an Eagle Court of Honor on July 15 at the Shrewsbury Presbyterian Church. He is the 111th member of the Shrewsbury-based Troop 50 to earn the rank.
Kent attended Red Bank High, which he graduated from in 2017, and will attend Montclair State University in the fall.
According to a press release from Red Bank High, Kent improved the playground of the Monmouth Day Care Center, Red Bank, for his Eagle Scout project, which he and his siblings had attended. He repaired a picnic bench for the staff, striped the macadam for pupils playing with toy cars, and planned, designed, built and installed two giant play boards or walls for interactive play.
One play board was music-based and allows pupils to strike a series of pipes to create a musical scale, along with multi-sized metal pans and bowls. The other play board was kinetics-based and features a series of colorful pipes and joints that guide balls in various directions, according to the press release.
“I thought it would give the kids some fun things to do when they were outside,” Kent said.
The project took a total 150 hours to complete, according to the press release, and Kent was assisted by his fellow Scouts in the project’s installation.
For Teresa Jahns, Kent’s mother, the project had special meaning to her because she has served as a longtime member of the Monmouth Day Care Center Board and her children have all attended the school. She made note of the several accomplishments her son earned during his time with the Scouts, which he has been a member of since first grade.
“I’m very proud that Kent achieved the rank of Eagle Scout,” Jahns said. “Over his years in Boy Scouts, he earned 29 merit badges and held various leadership positions in the Troop. His Eagle Project required hours of planning to design, obtain the materials and prepare them. Kent was assisted in the assembly and installation by other Boy Scouts from his Troop, just as he had helped with previous Eagle Projects.
“It was especially meaningful to me that he chose to do his project at Monmouth Day Care Center,” she said. “Kent and his siblings all attended Monmouth Day Care Center, and I have been a member of the Board of Directors there for about 20 years. It’s a terrific organization that has been an important part of our family and so many other families since it was established in 1969.”