By Paula Scott

For a recipient of a regional 2023 Jefferson Award and someone who earned Eagle Scout rank in spring 2022, Ada resident Aaron Spar is pretty matter of fact about his accomplishments. But as a scout with Down Syndrome, he is an exceptional individual in an elite group and has been spotlighted across area media.

Spar sat down with the Icon to look at his Eagle Scout album of photographs that now also includes news clippings. He explained that having started as a Cub Scout and seeing fellow scouts earn Eagle honors, he also wanted to find a way to give back to his community. He is now a Junior assistant scout master and a full-time custodian at Ohio Northern University.

It was neighbor Dave Savino who originally got him involved in scouting, an experience that Spar notes is about learning all kinds of things.

Spar warmed to the topic of his Eagle Scout project, renovating the flag pole monuments to World War I and World War II veterans at Ada's War Memorial Park.

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Working with a team of six others from Troop 124, the landscaping was upgraded by replacing mulch with river rock, tuck-pointing the flagstone structures and installing lights on the flag poles. It was a 140-day project.

Learning to tuckpoint was the most difficult part of the process, according to Spar, who would like to use the skill again in the future. The two displays are near the football field and baseball and softball fields, a location that has fond associations for him.

Spar’s Eagle Scout accomplishment inspired Linda Meyer to nominate him for the annual Jefferson Awards. The awards recognize “unsung heroes”from the greater Lima area, with eight adult and two youth honorees celebrated at a March 28 banquet.

The local Jefferson Awards spotlight individuals from Putnam, Auglaize, Van Wert, Hardin, Hancock and Allen counties. In addition to being presented with a medal engraved with the motto "Multiplying Good," a donation is made to a non-profit organization of each adult winner's choice. Donations are sponsored by Alberta Lee, a long-time Lima resident.