Michael John Ankner of Denver is The American Legion’s Eagle Scout of the Year for 2018. The announcement was made May 10, to the National Executive Committee, during the Legion’s Spring Meetings in Indianapolis. He has received a $10,000 scholarship.
Ankner is a junior at Denver East High School and a member of Boy Scout Troop 199. For his Eagle Scout project, he partnered with more than 35 businesses and his troop to redevelop the grounds at the Denver Indian Center, which provides career, community and family services to Native American youth. His project provided the center with a fire pit and natural rock benches to support “cultural transmission through storytelling,” a garden, and an art display space decorated with a 50-pound glass mosaic. Ankner raised nearly $20,000 for the project and provided 356 volunteer hours.
This unique project was unusually large, required diverse skills to accomplish the work, and required over $18,000 be raised. Work was completed June 2017. The Denver Indian Center, Inc. (DICI) held a ceremony in September 2017 in conjunction with Michael Ankner’s Eagle Scout ceremony at the Center located at 4407 Morrison Road, Denver, CO.
Read more at the American Legion site.
