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 The six Eagle Scouts to be recognized (listed in the order of
presentation) were Garrett Schreiner, Carter Robison, Noah Burton,
Zachariah Prather, Taylor Hoinacki and Blake Hermes.
Inside the door of the banquet room long tables were set up with
story boards for each of the six scout. The boards contained a
collection of memories from each scout reflecting their scouting
careers and their accomplishments throughout those years from Tiger
Cub to Boy Scout to Eagle Scout.
Around the room, the table decoration reflected the life of a scout,
and at the stage area a campsite was set up reflecting the outdoor
camping/survival experiences the scouts have throughout their
careers.
As guests took in the story boards and visited with others in the
room, Emcee Chris Graue called the room to attention and asked that
everyone find a seat for the beginning of the award ceremony.
 Graue welcomed everyone to the Court of Honor celebrating the
achievements of the six young men who would later be presented to
the audience as Eagle Scouts.
Graue noted in his welcome that achieving Eagle Scout is a team
effort that involves dedication of the scout, and also of his
family.
Pastor Mark Thompson was called upon to deliver the opening prayer.
He noted before the prayer that his son, now a college student was
also an Eagle Scout from Troop 1102. He said that the Eagle Scout
rank is a great achievement, and that parents should be quite proud
of their sons.
The guest speaker for the day was Chris Slaby, an Eagle Scout, who
would address life as an Eagle. Slaby is an adult now with a career
in news publication in Indianapolis. Slaby talked about how
achieving this rank indicated that these men now know and understand
how to react properly when things go wrong, and how to solve
problems.
He noted that in his role with the Indianapolis Television station,
he is daily called upon to assist and advise new writers/reporters
that have been in their careers longer than Slaby has been alive. He
said the value of leadership learned as a scout and eagle lead him
through those daily decisions.
Slaby also talked about the conscience of a scout, the voice that
tells them when something is not right, even when others are doing
it. He said an Eagle has a greater understanding of right and wrong,
and will use that understanding throughout his lifetime.
He told the six young men to be proud of their accomplishment. He
noted that he always notes his Eagle rank in his resume. He
recounted that at his first ever job interview, that note opened a
conversation between himself and his prospective employer who was
also an Eagle. He said that perhaps the designation wouldn’t get a
scout a job, but it would show an employer what type of person he
was considering.
Slaby quoted Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scouts, “A
scout is never taken by surprise. He knows exactly what to do when
anything unexpected happens.”
Slaby closed congratulating the six who would be honored later in
the ceremony.
 After the “presentation of colors,” six scout leaders recited the
“Voice of an Eagle.”
Graue:
This is the voice
of the Eagle, the Eagle whose heights you struggled to reach. We
remember well when you first came to the base of the cliff, and how
you looked up with ambition and determination.
Look back for a moment, look back over the cliff you have climbed;
look back at the experience you have encountered in your ascent.
These experiences should not be forgotten, and you should profit by
making sure that the adverse ones do not occur again. Experience is
a valuable teacher if you heed its teachings.
David Stephenson:
We remember when you took your first step upon the trail that leads
upward. With your first step, you began living the Scout Oath and
Law. While you were on the trail, we watched you study and then we
watched you learn by doing. First you were only a candidate,
building yourself physically, mentally and morally. Then your
brother Scouts called you a Tenderfoot and they were right, you were
indeed a Tenderfoot.
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Ray Papach:
But not for long, for
soon you reached the first ledge where you were greeted by a group
of Second Class Scouts.
Some, like yourself, were stopping to catch their breath before
continuing along the Eagle trail. You began to study more, you
worked harder, and almost before you knew it, you came to another
ledge, the ledge where First Class Scouts dwell.
Ed Robison:
There you found a
tempting green meadow by a crystal clear stream, bathed by the sun.
Here you were tempted to remain. Yes, you could have remained there
to live in First Class glory, but your ambition stirred you on. We
remember your progress to Star Scout. You found the trail from First
Class had been an optical illusion, not as difficult as it has
seemed. This spurred you on, and again you climbed higher.
Tim McCraith:
Now the trail was steeper, it was less worn. Fewer Scouts seemed to
be heading in your direction. You looked back and saw the crowds
below you. You looked up and saw the few above you. With the same
determination with which you started your climb, you continued on
the trail.
Graue:
Yes, we have watched
your character unfold and become manly. We have watched your
leadership ability expand into a valuable asset. We have watched
your mind develop and your wisdom increase. We have watched all of
these things in you. Now that you are at the threshold of your goal,
we welcome you. For you have done your climbing in a true
Scout-like-manner. Eagle Scout Carter McCraith was then
asked to escort the six Eagle Scouts to the front of the room. The
men would stand before the crowd while one-by-one each of them was
introduced by their designated presenter, then awarded their Eagle
Scout ribbon and medallion.
After receiving their ribbon, each one took the stage to discuss
their accomplishment. The young men spoke about their scouting
careers, talked about their Eagle Project, a community service and
leadership project they must complete to achieve their rank. All of
them offered pins to their parents, and several also pinned their
mentors.
The speeches given by the presenters ranged from quite serious to
funny as some spoke about the dedication and service of the scout,
while others chose to add funny stories about the scout he had
watched grow and mature into an Eagle to their introductions.
 The scouts also brought laughter to the audience as some of them
shared exciting and happy experiences throughout their scouting
careers.
During the presentation of the Eagles, Reverend Robert Henderson
presented Garrett Schreiner, Pastor Mark Thompson presented Carter
Robison, and Michael Meader presented Noah Burton. Meader also
presented Zachariah Prather, Tim McCraith presented Taylor Hoinacki,
and Ed Robison presented Blake Hermes.
After the presentation of the Eagle Scout medallions to each of the
six young men, Graue asked that anyone wishing to share scouting
stories come forward.
Giving everyone a moment to think about that, Graue said he wanted
to recognize all the Eagle Scouts in the room. He asked that all
Eagle Scouts rise, then he asked for their parents, if present, to
rise also.
When the topic of scouting stories came back around, Graue spoke
about his own experience at Philmont. He noted that he has three
children, two sons and a daughter, and he has been blessed to attend
Philmont with all three of them. He noted that on each trip, the
troop hike included climbing Mount Phillips. Graue said on the last
trip with his son Jack, they made it to the top of Mount Phillips,
and as they stood there together, it struck Graue that he had stood
at that very spot with all three of his kids. He said it was an
awesome feeling.
Ed Robison, a proven story teller, came to the front to share
another story of the last trip to Philmont. He noted that he and
Graue are both coffee drinkers, and they needed that morning Joe to
get going. Because of this, they always rose a bit earlier than
everyone else to get the fire going and the pot brewing. He
recounted that in the wilderness there is a need to hang all the
food in bags in the trees to protect it from the bears.
 On one particular morning, Graue and Robison were getting their bag
of coffee from the tree. They heard a noise. Robison looked into the
wooded area and there he saw it, a bear. “I don’t know to this day
if I was reaching back to save Chris (Graue) or throw him at the
bear!” Robison said for three seconds he really thought they were
going to die. The ‘bear’ ended up being a deer. Graue added to the
story that later they insisted, “that bear was going down, because
he was standing between us and our coffee.”
Pastor Robert Henderson was called on to offer up the closing
prayer. Before the prayer he commented that this was a very special
day. He said that though much had been said, most of what was said
would not be remembered. What would be remembered he noted, was the
feelings in the room. The happiness, the pride, the sentiments of
the day, like reacting to a photo, everyone who had experienced this
day would conjure up certain feelings when they think on it in the
future.
After prayer, guests were invited to stay and visit with the scouts,
to spend more time at the story boards, and to enjoy refreshments.
[Nila Smith] |
