Troop 88 Newsletter

In this edition:

Bill Preuss -- A+ Achiever
 

In other news, a senior, and an Eagle Scout, Bill Preuss, here at Royall H.S., received the Tribune Extra Effort Award.  This article was published in the 2/27/01 edition of the Tribune.

A+ 
Achiever

Royall Senior Sees His Future Carved In Wood
By Anastasia Mercer Of the Tribune Staff

ELROY Wis.– When Bill Preuss’ father, Daryl, stopper working because he to have back surgery, Bill decided to quit high school and go work to support his family.

            But his plan was quickly stymied by his father and his mother, Mary Sue.

            “They wouldn’t sign the papers,” Bill said.  “My dad ended up dropping out of high school, and he said that he wanted me to have something that he didn’t have.”

            Bill, a 17-yearold senior who is known as a polite and hard working young man, was chosen as the Tribune Extra Effort Award winner at Royall High School.  The honor student who has a 3.6 Grade Point Average wants to continue his education after high school to become a lumber inspector or woodworker.

“I’ve got to be out in nature because being inside behind a desk isn’t my cup of tea,” he said.  “I’ve just got to be working with my hands.  I’m not going to be fussy.”      Bill said he developed his passion for wood by working with his father, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from his service in Vietnam.  Bill said his dad likes to cut down trees to relieve stress, and Bill has been his helper from day one.  They frequently wake at 6:30 A.M. on Saturdays to cut firewood – a routine that has installed a strong work ethic in Bill.      “One of (Dad’s) sayings is to hit the iron while it’s hot,” Bill said.  “Anytime the sun is shining, he thinks the iron is hot.”

            Mark Campbell, a technical education instructor at Royall, said Bill has an impressive inner motivation that drives him to put in the time and effort it takes to create quality wood projects.

            “He’s down here about three hours a day,” Campbell said.  “It would be nice to have more like him.  The motivated ones who are always doing something are the fun ones to have.”

            Bill has also put in the time to earn his Eagle Scout rank, and he is in the process of completing a new park sign for his community project.  He delivers food baskets for the poor at Christmas every year, and he helps out his two ailing Grandmothers, who live in Elroy.

            He enjoys sports, and was in wrestling and football for three years, although has since quit so he could help out more at home and finish his Eagle Scout Project.  He is a four-year member of Prayer, Praise, and Study, his church youth group.

            “It’s really helped me out through a lot of tough times,” Bill said.  “It’s good to have something to believe in.”

            When Bill found out that that his school’s National Honor Society needed donations for a fund-raiser that would benefit a local woman with cancer, he gave the group the wooded jewelry box he had just finished in his woods class.

            Bill then spent the next few days frantically making another one, as he had originally promised the jewelry box to one of his female friends for Valentine’s Day.

            “Bill is a good young man, and he is always there to help anyone he can who is in need.”  Principal Tim McGowan wrote in his nomination of Bill for the award.

            “Bill’s family life has been somewhat hard for him,” McGowan wrote.  “In spite of all his hardships, he has managed to do well in school and be on the honor roll all four years.  He has never been in trouble of any kind.  He is a kind, polite, and considerable kid.”

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