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July 19, 2008

Felty second in nation in Junior Beta competition

By Mark Millican

Grant Felty never imagined when he was searching around for a theme — in a project area he had never worked — where it would lead.

But application and diligence resulted in the 14-year-old (as of Friday of last week) winning second place nationwide in the woodworking category of Junior Beta competition at Myrtle Beach, S.C. Grant’s scale rendition of the distinctive Eton Church of God chapel on CCC Camp Road also earned first place in state competition in Macon.

Project areas included living literature, scrapbook, posters, banners, arts and crafts, talent and woodworking, among others.

“I was just trying to fill out a category for our school,” said Grant, who was an eighth-grader at Bagley Middle School and is now a rising freshman. “I didn’t know what to do at first.”

Since Grant’s grandfather, the Rev. Bill Parker, pastors the church in a bucolic setting of rural Murray County, it seemed a natural model.

“I thought of a giant birdhouse also,” Grant said. “Mom had suggested the church first, and it became the best option.” His mother, Crystal, is vice chair of the Murray school board.

Then his father, Chris, had his turn. They both went to the church, where they attend regularly, and measured it in order to scale it down to model size. A plywood base served as the foundation, then a light wood was used for the walls. For windows and doors they were able to bend balsa wood in an effort to keep the whole model as light as possible — at around 20 pounds — since it fell to Dad to haul the church in and out of competitions safely.

“The shingles were the hardest part,” Grant said. “I split most of them with a nail gun, and we kept having to go to Hobby Lobby to get more.”

“Every one between here and Chattanooga,” injected Crystal, who noted Grant put the shingles on one by one until there were more than 1,000 on the roof.

“Grant has a big sense of commitment,” she said, “and he sees things through. I’m impressed with his determination.” She added that during the two-week construction phase, “Twenty-four hour days seemed to have 48 hours in them.”

Chris said that after the undertaking won first at state, the family had a “just happy to be here” attitude at nationals, then were “overwhelmed” to come in second. The placement was the highest ever for an entry from Bagley Middle, where Grant was also on the Quiz Bowl team.

“We’re very blessed to have a son such as Grant,” his father said. “He sets his mind on something, then follows through.”

“We’re thrilled that Grant’s project was locally related,” said club sponsor and Murray historian Tim Howard. “He certainly deserved (the award). He put a lot of hours into his project and I’m proud of him for sticking to it.”



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Bagley Junior Beta snags 19th straight service award



During the Junior Beta Club National Convention in Myrtle Beach, S.C., the Bagley Middle School club received its 19th consecutive service award in recognition of the many school and community projects the club does each year.

Four students who are members of the Bagley Quiz Bowl team — Hunter Cox, Jacob Howard, Timothy Southerland and Grant Felty — along with coach Tim Howard, assisted with the National Quiz Bowl Competition. Parents Chris and Crystal Felty accompanied the group.



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