Recent Red Bank Regional graduate Kent Hottmann of Shrewsbury returned to his Monmouth Day Care Center alma mater to complete his Eagle Scout project, a music wall.
Press release from Red Bank Regional High School
In a July 15 ceremony held at Shrewsbury Presbyterian Church, recent Red Bank Regional High School graduate Kent Hottmann of Shrewsbury was honored as an Eagle Scout, becoming the 111th scout with Shrewsbury’s Troop 50 to earn Scouting’s highest award since the Troop’s inception in the 1930s.
To satisfy the requirements for the rank, Kent performed over 100 community service hours, and provided service and leadership as an Assistant Senior Patrol Leader for his troop. For his Eagle Scout project, Kent went back to his earliest days of pre-school, to improve the children’s playground at his Red Bank “alma mater,” Monmouth Day Care Center.
Kent Hottmann displays the kinetic ball drop wall he created to augment playtime for the Monmouth Day Care Center children.
Working over a total of 150 hours, Kent repaired a picnic bench for the staff, striped the macadam so the students could park their toy cars “like their parents,” and planned, designed, and built two giant play boards or walls for interactive play. The boards were installed with the assistance of some of his fellow troop members.
The first board was based on music, where children could bang a series of pipes to create a musical scale, along with multi-sized metal pans and bowls. The second play board was based on kinetics, where a series of colorful pipes and joints guide a ball drop in various directions.
“It has been an awesome experience for our kids to have something new to play with outside,” said Monmouth Day Care Executive Director Heidi Zaentz. “The activities of the board also help develop their cognitive, motor and mental skills.
As the director added, Kent’s endeavor “went to my heart, since he thought of us (for his Eagle Scout project), and because I knew him when he was so little.”
The son of a troop leader, Kent earned a host of merit badges over the years, with an emphasis on camping and woodworking. His mother has been a member of the Monmouth Day Care Center Board since before Kent was born; no doubt providing him with inspiration for his project.
Kent will attend Montclair State University in September. He was an involved student at RBR, with a preference for math and science courses, in addition to being a member of the Italian Honor Society and a Lacrosse varsity player. He has also volunteered for the Bridge of Books Foundation in his community.
