Four New Eagle Scouts In D'Ville

From the Capital Gazette:

L to R: Colin Tolliver , Jeremy Bone, Alec Pierce and Chris Arnold, 

from Boy Scout Troop 454 in Davidsonville, 

Boy Scouts Troop 454 in Davidsonville achieved a rare feat this year: It had four eligible Scouts earn Eagle rank.

They met the requirements, completed the projects and submitted them to the review board this year. Troop members Chris Arnold, Colin Tolliver, Jeremy Bone andAlec Pierce received their awards at a joint honor court at Holy Family Catholic Church in Davidsonville on June 4.

Alec's project involved making a paddle board rack to accommodate 10 paddle boards for the West River Methodist Church Camp.

"I chose this project because I wanted to give back to my local community and it also was where I went when I was younger," he said. "I learned hard work pays off and benefits others long after you are done."

Alec is attending Salisbury University in pursuit of a business degree.

For his project, Colin organized a cleanup of the Quaker Burying Ground in Galesville and built bluebird houses to place in the cemetery.

"The hardest part was getting it off the ground," Colin said. "We cleaned up litter, washed off the fencing, cleared brush, raked up leaves and put down mulch around trees."

Colin is going to Penn State to study aerospace engineering.

Chris built warm-up pitching mounds at Davidsonville Park where he played Little League baseball for 10 years.

"I knew that they were in poor condition," he said. "I thought it would be good for my project because it was something I was close to and benefited the community."

He is going to Auburn University to study political science with an eye to work in the State Department.

As his project, Jeremy created display cases for the Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary in Lothian.

"I've been going to Jug Bay since I was a child and it's a place I really love," Jeremy said. "I asked them what they needed, and they said informational display cases because they don't always have enough people available to inform visitors of what is there."

Jeremy is headed for West Point and hopes to enter the intelligence field as an Army officer.

Each of the Scouts helped the others with their projects, along with the other troop members, family, friends and volunteers. They agreed the toughest lessons were learning how to delegate responsibilities for the projects, keeping the projects' to-do lists moving and managing the demands of life with family, school and Scouting.

The Eagle Scout designation was founded more than 100 years ago. It is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America.He must plan, develop and lead a service project — the Eagle Project — that demonstrates leadership and a commitment to duty, before his 18th birthday. After all requirements are met, he must complete an Eagle Scout board of review. A merit badge and medal are presented to the successful Eagle Scout at his honor court ceremony.

Since its inception in 1912, only 2.1 percent of eligible Scouts have earned the rank (about 2.5 million young men in total). About 6 percent of eligible Scouts earn the Eagle badge each year.