Fifteen-year-old Eagle Scout Max Webster handed the keys to his completed Eagle Scout Service Project over to Department of Corrections Commissioner Jen Winkelman on Tuesday.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the official transfer of his project, a newly constructed Control Tower at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center Firearms Training Center, to DOC.
Winkelman cut the “ribbon,” a line of yellow police tape, across the steps leading up to the second story of the tower.
“This tower is a welcome addition to our training center,” LCCC Superintendent Bob Cordle said. “This gives the firearms instructor an opportunity to have a bird’s-eye view of the range master and the officers that are qualifying to help them better with their form, to help them accomplish their purposes of becoming certified in the firearms instructor course.”
The project is the culmination of 14 months of work for Webster, including developing and presenting the concept, raising over $10,000 in donations, securing discounted supplies, and helping with construction.
“I come from the law enforcement family, and so I figured that I want my Eagle Scout project, if I’m going to do something, I should do something that — it’s big, it’s going to last, and it benefits people,” Webster said.
U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Association, Valley Lumber, Moose Lodge #700, Juneau Elks Lodge #420, First Command and private donors supported Webster in his efforts.
Webster also expressed gratitude for the Lemon Creek Correctional Center staff, who were critical in building the tower.
Webster orchestrated the construction of the structure and Lemon Creek Correctional Center offered to finish the interior. They plan to put up shelving and storing tools and equipment in the tower.
The firearms training center provides a space for training and testing local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, including the Juneau Police Department, Alaska State Troopers, Department of Fish & Game, and U.S. Coast Guard.
“Better training for these agencies means they do their job better,” Webster said. “They’re safer. We’re safer.”
Before the ribbon-cutting, LCCC staff and leadership, project sponsors and Webster’s family stood under tents in the rain to listen to speeches of gratitude and congratulations from Scoutmaster Matt Dobson, Cordle, Winkelman, and Webster himself.
“This is more than just a structure. It’s a testament to what we can accomplish when we work together,” Winkelman said in her address. “It will serve our community for many years to come, and that’s a legacy we’re celebrating.” The Eagle Scout Service Project gives scouts an opportunity to foster leadership skills by seeing a community-oriented project to completion.
“As a scout progresses through the ranks, Eagle Scout being the highest and the most well-known rank in scouting,” Dobson said. “One of the requirements is that they have to do some sort of a community project, something that benefits the community more than just like a cleanup day or a service day, it has to have some sort of a lasting benefit to the community.”
The Eagle Scout is the highest rank in scouts; however, the achievement cannot be received after a scout turns 18 and ages out of the program.
Webster is a rising junior at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé. He has been scouting for 10 years. He said while it is common to procrastinate the Eagle Scout project, he wanted to complete the project early and continue to learn as a part of Troop 6 at the highest rank.
“I want to stay active in the troop, because it’s good for younger scouts, because it’ll inspire them to want to progress,” Webster said.
• Contact Natalie Buttner at natalie.buttner@juneauempire.com.
Max Webster watches Department of Corrections Commissioner Jen Winkelman cut the ribbon on the steps to leading up to the second story of the tower on Tuesday, July 9, 2025. (Natalie Buttner / Juneau Empire)
The control tower that Max Webster built standing in the summer rain on Tuesday, July 9, 2025. (Natalie Buttner / Juneau Empire)
