Jarrett Turner is following in his brothers' footsteps by getting his Eagle Scout rank - but at a much earlier age.

At 12, Turner earned his rank years earlier than when most Boy Scouts become Eagle Scouts in high school. When he learned that he would attend the DaVinci Academy for middle school, he approached principal Cindy White to ask what he could do to help.

"The teachers said an outdoor classroom would be great to observe nature and promote a different kind of learning," Turner said. "We can also enjoy the outdoors."

Turner talked to the teachers about what style of benches they'd like and how to adapt it to weather conditions. He built a model at home first and then cut the wood to scale and put it together.

"My brothers and father are Scouts, and we really like what scouting teaches young men, which is to become leaders and citizens and learn outdoors skills," Tuner said. "I'm just a regular seventh-grade kid who likes to play video games and football."

The oldest brother, Adam, earned his Eagle Scout rank at 16 after he helped to create the area around West Hall Middle School's Partners in Education sign. When the school redesigned the sign, he built a brick wall around the sign and planted flowers.

"I got the project idea from the principal when I asked what I could do to help," said Adam, who is now a Hall County Schools substitute teacher. "It was a fun experience, and my brothers are earning the rank faster and faster."

Adam returned from a two-year mission in Chile on Oct. 19 and is still readjusting to life back at home.

"It was the best two invested years of my entire life, with the things I learned and got to see and do," he said.

Adam was located hundreds of miles south of where the 33 miners were recently freed after being trapped for nearly two months underground, but he could feel the nation's unity in the air.

"It was like Sept. 11 here, where it really strengthened the country," he said. "They had flags up, and it was their bicentennial celebration, so you could feel the national pride around the country focused on getting the guys out."

Upon returning, Adam passed the baton to the second-oldest brother, Nathan, who just began his two-year mission in Chile this week.

"I literally passed off a baton, which I created out of paper towel roll and painted with white out and markers," Adam said. "He left the day that I returned. We were in the airport at the same time."

For Nathan's Eagle Scout rank, which he earned at 15, he created Patriot Park - a dedication area at West Hall Middle School where students and family members can buy bricks in memory of a "patriot." The third brother, Jesse, now a junior at West Hall High School, expanded on the idea and made the area more permanent to earn his Eagle Scout rank at age 14.

"It was fun to go by and see the tradition passed on, and it was going to be a permanent thing," Jesse said Friday. "It's great to see Jarrett continue this and see that he knows what we stand for in our church and our scout troop."

Adam, Jesse and their parents supported Jarrett on Saturday when he was recognized for his new rank during a ceremony.

"The others did their projects at West Hall Middle, so it was neat to see Jarrett do his own thing when he was selected to go to DaVinci," said mom Sara. "It's really touching to see all the boys do this and support each other."