Boy Scout Troop 195 of St. Catherine of Sweden Church held a special Court Of Honor award ceremony on Monday, July 30th. The purpose of this ceremony was to recognize 3 Hampton High School seniors – Henry Arch III, Matthew G. Bauman and Grant K. Smith – for attaining the Eagle Scout Award, the highest honor a Boy Scout can receive.
Becoming an Eagle Scout is considered a very prestigious award, as a scout must complete a minimum of 21 merit badges, demonstrate leadership in his troop and community, complete a service project for the community, and attend a Scoutmaster conference, and an Eagle Board of Review. Nationally, only about five percent of scouts will attain the award. Once the honor is earned, the scout is an Eagle Scout for life.
Guest speakers at the ceremony included The American Legion, the US Submarine Vets, and US Marine Corps. Each of these speakers recognized the Eagle achievement with certificates or medals.
Because he regularly volunteers at Bread of Life, Hank asked them if there was anything they needed done that he could use for his Eagle Scout project. “My project involved renovating a significant portion of the Bread of Life food pantry shelving in Etna, which evolved into 351 hours of labor. The scope of work changed as we worked through the project, but we adjusted. I learned how to detail a project and communicate to adults what needed to be done.” Hank‟s advice to prospective Eagle scouts is to “describe in detail the scope of the project and explain the steps necessary to complete it.”
Matt‟s project was to create a new outdoor worship sanctuary at the New Community Church in Gibsonia, and involved 214 hours of labor. “I chose this project because of on-going involvement with my church. Overcoming project changes, managing manpower and budgeting taught me a lot. I learned how to take charge of a project, work and communicate with adults.”
Grant‟s project was to create raised flowerbeds and an 8- foot bench beside the shuffleboard courts at Hampton Fields retirement home and involved 124 hours of labor. “I did a lot of visiting at my aunt’s retirement home, and I noticed they had nice raised beds there. I figured that Hampton Fields, a retirement home close to my home, would be a great place for a project.” The rains made pouring concrete a struggle, but we were able to accomplish the project through good planning and leadership.”
All three Eagle scouts also participated in several high adventure outings during their scouting experience including a 72 mile wilderness trek at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico and a 65 mile canoe trip down the Au Sable River in northern Michigan. In total, these scouts have accumulated 316 nights of camping, hiked 392 miles, and paddled more 200 miles.
These Eagle scouts offer the following advice to young scouts, “Stick with it, in the end it‟s worth it. Never give up.”
About the Author….Autumn Edmiston, CEO of the Edmiston Group and writer for The Hampton News, brings corporate level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. The Edmiston Group specializes in business development, marketing, strategic planning and public relations. Our strengths in leadership, message consistency both graphically and by written word, experience and strategy guide business owners in making strong decisions. We bring fresh ideas for YOUR growing business!