Sure, Cayman Kirkhart's Eagle Scout project was a little ambitious.

The 13-year-old Boy Scout, a longtime member of Hayden Troop 911, planned to organize "Be Prepared Day." Assembling firefighters, deputies, soldiers and paramedics from all over the region, he would create a multifaceted, multi-agency event benefitting the entire community.

And he wanted it big - really big.

"Something that would stand out, that we thought would be different from the others," he said.

His ideas took root, and the bold project slowly took shape. It was a time-consuming endeavor, a logistical morass. Cayman sent emails, made phone calls and met with various agencies. He gave public presentations.

The event venue, Hayden's Finucane Park, was reserved.

All told, Cayman worked on the project for about eight months. Throughout the long process, his 4.0 gpa at North Idaho Christian School never slipped.

"It was great for his future," said Larry Kirkhart, Cayman's dad and Troop 911 scoutmaster. "He was determined to do this, and make a difference in the community."

Be Prepared Day kicked off at 10 a.m. July 9. Disaster preparedness was the overarching theme, and agencies like the Panhandle Health District, the Kootenai County Office of Emergency Management, Northern Lakes Fire District and Northwest Backcountry Rescue participated.

"Everyone said, 'Boy, we need to support this,'" said PHD spokeswoman Cynthia Taggart. "(Cayman) was incredibly organized. And he answered everybody quickly via email, and pulled everyone together."

About 300 people visited Finucane Park on Saturday. They learned about home emergencies and backcountry safety, and watched a Northwest Medstar helicopter land in the open field.

Cayman facilitated the chopper's flight.

"He had to set up the LZ (landing zone), get the latitude and longitude, radio frequency, coordinate with the fire department," Larry said. "It was quite the project."

Finucane Park was filled with medical, search and rescue and military outfits. Fires or floods, tornadoes or tsunamis, the crews were prepared for just about anything.

"We can never get enough of that preparedness information out there," said Doug Fredericks, resource and preparedness specialist at the office of emergency management. "It's great that the agencies will commit their resources."

The Idaho National Guard built a giant obstacle course, the sheriff's department showed off its highly-trained canines, and the American Red Cross brought a few 72-hour emergency kits, filled with food and water.

PHD made an appearance, its emergency response vehicle on display. Firefighters arrived with their fire safety trailer, and taught youngsters how to escape a burning house.

Elsewhere, the Kootenai County Emergency Auxiliary served the grub.

Being prepared, Taggart said, "is something none of us really think about until there is an emergency. I think it is good... people can come out and they can see, the counties are taking care of people."

Cayman was in command on Saturday, essentially running the show. Eagle projects must demonstrate leadership, Larry explained, while also helping out the community.

Be Prepared Day met both criteria.

"The impressive thing about Cayman is he did that on his own," Fredericks said. "I think he did a fantastic job with it, to pull that together."

Cayman, the owner of 42 merit badges, has been scouting for nine years. He started in Tiger Cubs and moved up through the ranks.

On July 20, Cayman will meet with a board of review to discuss his Eagle project. He hopes to attend his Eagle Court of Honor on Sept. 11, where he will become an Eagle Scout.

"A lot of scouts say, second to getting married, (the court) is the best event of their life," Larry said.

Cayman's project was a learning experience, he said. Time-management was a valuable lesson.

"One of the things I learned," Cayman said, "was to have an agenda of what to do, and not do it all at once."