NATCHEZ — It’s said a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

For five teens from Boy Scout Troop 158 in Natchez, that step began as early as kindergarten for some, culminating in earning the rank of Eagle Scout.

Andrew Allen, 18; Jake Smilo, 19; Braxton McKay, 19; Jay Vaughan, 18; and Brandon Sandifer, 19, reached the end of that journey in February.

The rank of Eagle Scout is the highest advancement a Boy Scout can achieve. It’s a process that requires months spent in a leadership position, scores of merit badges and various other activities.

Not every Scout makes it.

“You definitely have to sacrifice a lot of time, but it’s worth it,” Smilo said.

One of the requirements is a service project. Scoutmaster Paul Maier said each scout completed his own separate project, and each project varied in the time it took to complete.

“It could be a long time or it could be a short time,” Maier said.

The projects the individual scouts did were diverse, resulting in their fingerprints all over the community.

Smilo worked to stripe the Catholic Charities parking lot, creating lines for parking spaces where, at one point, there had just been an empty lot.

“It took a little time and it was hot,” he said.

McKay’s project also featured the outdoors, but it was a bit more rustic. McKay replaced signs at Natchez State Park, making new signs to identify different tree species, and replacing some of the old, damaged ones.

Sandifer also got into a project based in construction, building benches for Historic Jefferson College.

The site provided Sandifer with the materials, but he provided the elbow grease.

Vaughan and Allen both built gazebos, but for different places. Vaughan built his for the Riverland Medical Center in Ferriday, alongside inmates from the Concordia Parish Correctional Facility.

“I learned quite a bit about building things while I was doing that,” Vaughan said.

Allen built his for Cathedral School, specifically for prom. Getting it inside the building presented its own unique challenge.

“We had to build it where you could take it apart easy,” Allen said.

The gazebo now resides near the school’s playground.

After completing their requirements, the scouts went for interviews with the Eagle Scout Board of Review. They all passed and were awarded the rank of Eagle Scout.

It was a proud time. However, Scoutmaster Freddie Voss, the Troop’s longtime scoutmaster, died the previous September and was unable to see the ceremony.

“It felt good knowing he was our Scoutmaster,” Sandifer said.

Allen said he meant a lot to the troop.

“He was like all of our grandaddies,” Allen said.

Allen said Voss believed all of them could make it, and his faith in them was rewarded.

“He was proud of them for making it,” Maier said.

Finishing the project and achieving the rank made the hard work worth it, Vaughan said.

“The leadership and maturity you gain from it are priceless,” he said.

And, for the scouts, there’s nothing they would have done differently.

“No regrets,” McKay said.

Allen is the son of Glynn and Stephanie Allen; Smilo is the son of Ron and Maria Smilo; McKay is the son of Stacy and Patty McKay; Vaughan is the son of Chris and Susan Vaughan; and Sandifer is the son of Kyle and Holly Sandifer.