Visitors to Elmer Thomas Park have a new place for peace and reflection in the form of the Patriot Pavilion, the Eagle Scout Project of Nicholas Sasseen.
Seeing the pavilion from a distance doesn’t do it justice. To really experience it, one must walk into the cathedral-like structure.
“It doesn’t feel real until about 5 minutes after you’ve walked under it,” Sasseen said. “It’s almost surreal. I’ve always had this picture in my mind of what it was going to be when we were building it. I never thought I would be this proud of it.”
Sasseen is an unassuming 16-year-old with a confidence in his voice beyond his age. When he speaks about the pavilion, he gives himself little credit. This was his idea, sure, but the structure was created with the help of dozens of volunteers and donors.
After breaking ground on the project in January of 2019, it is now nearing its final stages. On Saturday, Sasseen will gather alongside friends, family and city officials to dedicate the pavilion. The dedication will feature music from local artists, a flag ceremony from the local Boy Scouts of America and remarks from Sasseen on the thematic elements of the pavilion.
“Whenever we were brainstorming this my dad and I came across this image of 3 firefighters. It was right after the 9/11 attacks and they were hanging up this American flag while the rubble around them was still smoking and burning,” Sasseen said. “There is something about that little piece of fabric that can say so much about what people live for. I wanted to use the project to show people what I stand for.”
Inside the pavilion, which features a metal 13-by 21-foot American flag, visitors will find symbols of America’s founding, its enduring freedom and the cost of that freedom.
The project itself is Sasseen’s final step on his road to becoming an Eagle Scout, a road that his older brother and his father before him have also walked.
“Only about 1 out of every 600 scouts ever get their Eagle,” Donna Sasseen, Nicholas’ mother, said. “You have from the time you’re 10 to the time you turn 18 to earn it, and Nicholas has accomplished it at 16.”
His brother, Conner Sasseen, achieved his Eagle at 18. Conner’s Eagle project was a stone statue of the Ten Commandments. Nicholas looked to his brother’s project to find inspiration for his own.
“Every time I gave a speech at a fundraiser, I’d mention my brother’s Eagle project,” Sasseen said. “People would always come up to me afterward and ask if there was any sibling rivalry and I’d say, ‘no…but mine is bigger.’”
After the dedication on Saturday, Sasseen will go before the state Eagle Board where he will have to make a final presentation. The board will then decide if he has done enough to earn his rank. And while Sasseen said that he feels ready, he is also nervous.
“There are always those questions that they never ask until you are there, right. There are always questions that you don’t expect. So I’ve got ‘Plan B’ for those about what I’m going to say. I’m pretty nervous because it’s not done until it’s done,” Sasseen said.
But regardless of the final outcome, Sasseen is proud of the legacy that he is leaving. One that will stand even after he has moved on.
“Ever since I was little I’ve been involved in scouting. This was a promise I made to myself, I wanted to leave something big, I am fulfilling that promise.”
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November 04, 2020 at 02:00PM
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A Boy Scout's promise to himself is fulfilled in a creation for the community - The Lawton Constitution
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