DHS senior completes Scout project, repaints Trojan band bus

Bringing together two of his passions, DHS senior Paul Anderson completed his Eagle Scout service project of repainting the Dyersburg High School Trojan marching band equipment bus.

Anderson, a member of Boy Scout Troop 87 as well as drum major and member of the Trojan marching band, was contemplating what he could do for his service project. When he approached his scoutmaster, Dob Johnson, and assistant scoutmaster, Dr. Scott Self, and asked for their advice, it was what Dr. Self told him that began to get the wheels turning.

“He said to me ‘Why don’t you pick an organization that’s important to you, go to whoever is in charge of that, and see what needs to be done?’”, explained Anderson. “My two favorite organizations are the Boy Scouts and the DHS band.”

According to Anderson, he approached Trojan band director Jared Nobles to ask if there was anything he could do to help the band.

“He said that the band could use some new shelves in the storage room,” replied Anderson. “Then he said as a joke that if I felt ambitious, I could paint the bus.”

Taking Nobles up on his joke, Anderson decided that painting the band’s equipment bus was the perfect project for him.

“In spring 2015, the Dyer County Bus Shop agreed to donate a bus to us to replace the old one,” stated Nobles. “The only request was that within a year it be painted and all the yellow be removed.”

Anderson took on the project and told Nobles that he would accomplish the goal at no cost to the band. According to Anderson, Nobles handled the administrative dealings.

To achieve that feat, Anderson spoke to his Scout troop as well as DHS band members and urged them to join in to help.

With Paul leading the way, Scouts and band members began removing lights, lettering, and the protruding pieces from the vehicle.

“The difference between a boss and a leader is that a leader gets down and does the work with the workers,” said Anderson. “So, I did just that. I was there doing it with them.”

The most difficult and challenging task, according to Anderson, and his father, Louis, was the removal of the adhesive reflectors.

“It was a nightmare,” stated Louis.

“We had to actually power sand the adhesive off,” admitted Anderson. “We tried industrial strength adhesive remover at first, but that didn’t work. So we went to drastic measures.”

Anderson started the initial contact between he and Hub’s Body Shop to see if they could help out.

“Mr. Hub is actually the grandfather of one of the kids out of our troop,” added Anderson. “That’s how we got his contact.”

He coordinated the specifications with Hub’s, and the body shop agreed to come on board.

“Hub basically did it at cost,” added Louis. “He volunteered his time, and when his employee came in and painted the bus for us, he paid for his employee’s time. He was professional and took care of all of that for us.”

Prior to Hub’s painting the bus, Anderson and the many volunteer workers placed magazine pages over all the windows. Then, the bus received a nice coat of metallic black paint.

Hub’s Body Shop provided all of the necessary tools at no cost for the project.

Also, Anderson contacted Suckerpunch Sign and Graphics who created and applied the graphics to the bus at a discounted rate.

According to Nobles, the Dyersburg City School System covered the cost for the graphics.

In all, 28 people, including 10 Scouts, 12 band members/ friends of band members, three Scouting adults, two other adults, plus Anderson, worked on the bus amassing 258 total hours of prepping, painting, and placing the finishing touches on the vehicle.

The total cost of the project, including purchasing materials such as primer, paint, adhesive remover, laundry detergent, and other necessary items, came in at $1,995.86.

Anderson stated that his grandfather covered the cost.

The finished product was revealed to all of the DHS Trojan band members before their departure prior to this past season’s first away football game.

The metallic black equipment bus, lettered in gold, was a hit among the band.

“It looks great,” added Nobles. “We would go to contests this year and get many compliments. It’s a perfect example of people from a school system, community, and students coming together to create something and accomplish a task. The students have been very appreciative of it, and I as a director have been very appreciative of it as well. I want to express my appreciation to everyone involved.”

“I cannot give Mr. Hub and Suckerpunch Graphics and Design enough thanks and praise, because without them, we wouldn’t have been able to do this,” stated Anderson.

For his efforts, Anderson won an award for the Best Eagle Scout Service Project in the Davy Crockett District, which includes Dyer, Lake, and Obion counties as well as the communities of Halls, Bradford, Kenton, Yorkville, and Dyer.

He was also invited to speak about his project at the Dyersburg Rotary Club meeting on Feb. 23.

“We are very proud of what he accomplished,” added Louis.

“I’m just very happy that I could bring together my two favorite organizations,” said Anderson.

Paul is the son of Louis and Heidi Anderson and has a weighted GPA of 4.0. He is a member of the National Honors Society and Beta Club. Paul plays oboe and mallet percussion in the DHS band, where he is also an award-winning drum major. Anderson was chosen to participate in the Tennessee Ambassadors of Music program, where he will tour Europe and perform with other students.

After graduation, he will attend the University of Memphis where he has accepted a scholarship.