Four More Eagle Scouts On The Way

[Eamonn 61]

One nice thing about a small district is watching the little fellows in the blue uniform grow and follow them till they reach their goal.The District Advancement Chair had asked if I would Chair the Eagle Scout BOR.

At supper OJ had asked if Greg, a Lad from his troop was coming tonight? I said that he was. OJ went on to say that Greg had just been voted the best mannered Student in his year.( OJ got most school spirit.)

We had four Lads, I did my usual little pre talk with them. Telling them that we are not going to harm them and they should try not to be nervous. Greg was the first Lad in. I really like him, he is just a real nice kid. His Dad is in Scouting, more active in the Lodge than anything else. Greg had left everything to the last minute and really had to work hard to get everything done before his 18 birthday. A few years back he really wanted to quit Scouts. He is the Section Leader in the School band. He really is into sports, he has a fantastic memory for statistics, follows every Pittsburgh team and hopes to get into radio broadcasting. He sailed through the review, he was very confident very much at ease and gave well thought out and intelligent answers.

I didn't know the next Lad. The troop he attends is not in the top 20 in the district. John, was very nervous, but came across as a nice Lad. He is 17. I was a bit surprised to see that he was wearing a Den Chief cord, once we started talking about his work with the pack he was on a roll. He really likes working with the little fellows and is building a Chopper, I won a few brownie points when I mentioned that I used to own a 750 BSA bike in a Norton frame. He told us how much he enjoyed going to summer camp. He had done some repairs and painting in his church for his project.

Next was Joey. Joey has had a real hard time with ADD and hyperactivity. His Dad is an ASM in the troop and his Mother is very different. Joey was really lucky that he joined a newly formed troop, which was at that time small enough to accommodate his needs. The SM is a nice guy who is a MD. I remember Joey as a Cub Scout, he was off the walls. I was overjoyed to see that he had made it this far. He is in a Tech School and can talk your hind legs off once he gets on heating and air conditioning. I asked him if his ADD had made Scouting hard for him, he said that it had, but thanks to the people in his troop he had worked through it. I asked who if anyone had made the biggest impression on him in Scouting. I thought he would say his Dad or his SM, but he pointed to the Committee Member who had come with him. Joey wen on to list what a great guy and what a help this Committee Member was.

Next was Tim. He was in the 2001 Jamboree Troop, his mother send enough pills to sink a battle Ship. His Dad is the SM of a dying troop. They have some younger Scouts, but Tim along with a couple of others are the only older Scouts left. His presentation of his project was almost professional. He didn't interview well. I know that he is a good kid, I know that he has really put some hard work and effort into some of the merit badges. But it was very apparent that Scouting with the troop had lost it's interest. He said that things are tough as he now works in a supermarket after school. When he left the room we all looked at each other. The Committee member that he had brought along didn't say anything. I looked over the paper work and said that everything was in order. I thought that at least one Board Member was going to fail him. I asked the Committee Member if he was still volunteering in the coffee shop at the hospital? He wasn't sure. I mentioned that I knew that he used to. Tim wants to work on planes in the Air Force. In the end we did agree to pass him.

When he came back in I told him that he needed to work on his interview skills and we had a little chat. He settled down a little and we talked about him at Webelos Scout Camp.

We have four more Eagle Scouts, the kid that wanted to quit, the Lad with ADD, The Lad who will one day be a Cubmaster and A Lad who wants to work on planes.

Boy are we lucky to be able to serve such great people.

Eamonn

[buffalo2 14]

Thanks for sharing Eammon

I'm just getting to the point where the boys that I came through Cubs with are earning their Eagles and starting to step out in life. Its a pleasure to run with them when I can, and an honor to have been even a small part of their development... Makes you look a little harder at the younger ones and try to do what small things we can.