Eagle Scout project a 'welcome' addition
By Kevin Gate Special to the Acorn

SIGN OF THE TIMES- Simi Valley resident and Boy Scout Patrick Promen, third from left, poses in front of the new welcome sign he built by hand with the help of fellow scouts Andrew Barrick, Andrew Agajanian-Promen and Alex Barrick.

As construction on the new "Welcome to Simi Valley" sign was just getting underway last month atop Rocky Peak, another less prominent welcome sign was nearing completion.

Earlier this year, for his Eagle Scout project, Simi resident Patrick Promen, 17, took on a handreconstruction of the welcome sign on Santa Susana Pass Road. The sign had been claimed by the same 2005 hillside brushfire that destroyed the larger welcome sign.

Patrick himself designed and painted the new sign, which he, family and friends installed May 21. It stands 10 feet tall and 12 feet wide.

Although he didn't receive much help creating the sign, Patrick said he did receive a few welcome tips from his father, Chris, a carpenter by trade.

The brown sign is made of weathered wood and stone that Patrick purchased from Home Depot. Painted white letters reading "Welcome to Simi Valley" will greet residents entering Simi from the San Fernando Valley using the pass road.

"I've been a part of Boy Scouts since I was 11," Patrick said. "I use Santa Susana Pass a lot, and I missed (the sign), so I decided to rebuild it for my Eagle project."

Patrick, who graduated Sunday from Crespi High School in Encino, said he's sure his sign will last longer than the last.

"Since (the 2005 Topanga Fire) everyone's been more cautious about the area up there and the fire hazard, so I don't think that fire will be an issue," he said, although he admitted his sign wasn't fireproof.

Patrick's mother, Carol Agajanian-Promen, said her son's project has become a source of pride that she's reminded of often.

"I see the sign anywhere between two to six times a day. I drive Santa Susana Pass every day, at least twice back and forth," she said. "We drive by and I say, 'Oh wow, look at that, there's your sign!'"

Getting the city to officially recognize the new sign was a little bit of challenge, Patrick said- one that took weeks.

"It was actually kind of interesting because the city told me that the sign was on county property, and then Ventura County told me that the sign was on city property, so I had to get approval from both the city and the county," Patrick said.

Though the sign is currently there for viewing, there are still settlements being worked out among the city, the county and the sign maker himself, Patrick said. AgajanianPromen said she expects all sides will eventually come together to support her son's civicoriented project.

"Everybody thought it was a great idea. It was a big project for him, and I think it's something that everybody can be proud of," she said. "It's something he can be proud of, so he knows he's done something (for the community)."

Patrick, who will attend EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz., next year, has three siblings- brothers Peter, 16, and Paul, 13, and a sister, Leilani, who is 10. He said one day he would like to be a NASA astronaut.