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Those being added to that status locally were Elijah
Burton, Evan Derrick, David Papach, Zachary Smith and William Trent.
The advancement ceremony was held at the Lincoln
Knights of Columbus and began with lunch and dessert before the
official ceremony.
Mike Meador served as the emcee for the program and after lunch
welcomed everyone and asked that Randy Mullin lead the prayer for
the day.
After the prayer, Scout Master Ed Robison was the
first to speak. He said that the purpose of the day was to honor the
five scouts who have worked so hard to achieve their Eagle Scout
rank.
He asked first to have all who have already earned their Eagle Scout
rank to rise.
Robison then spoke about his history with the five honorees. He said
their first camp outs at Kickapoo Park they were not prepared for
the adventure before them. For many of the boys it is their first
experience camping and they go through a lot of transition. Some
don’t sleep, some want to go home, and it takes a lot of effort to
keep them for the night. But, they make progress along the way.
One of their biggest accomplishments early in their scout career is
the Pilgrimage hike, which is over 20 miles. He said they all made
it and it was a grueling trip.
Robison recalled some of the experiences he had with each boy.
Elijah Burton was very unprepared for his first campout, but he grew
into it, made several Pilgrimages and was an asset at Philmont. He
said one of the favorite memories was that Elijah always wanted to
rise early at the campouts so he could have coffee with Robison.
Evan Derrick always pushed himself and worked to go above and
beyond. Evan would load down his own backpack with items from the
other scouts because he needed to prove he could carry a pack as
heavy as Robison’s, and he did.
Robison described David Papach as “High energy’ and “high
adventure.” He added that there was no one in the room who could be
more spiritual than David. He is also fearless and always out front,
leading the way. He recalled a time when they were on a big hike,
and Robison said they were at the base of some cliffs and he said
aloud that perhaps it wouldn’t be a good idea to try to climb then,
only to look up and see that David was already there, and was
pointing out the way so that others could join him.
Zachary Smith is the scout Robison says has perhaps grown the most
over the years. He never backs down from a challenge and he never
quits. Robison recalled how thrilled Zachary was to finish his first
Pilgrimage and said he gave the leader a giant hug in celebration.
Zachary, like many of the others, was able to go to Philmont with
his dad. They climbed to the top of Mount Phillips together. Robison
said it was always all or none, so they stood together at the top of
the mountain and celebrated their accomplishment.
Robison noted that in the time he has been with the five new Eagles,
they have shared so many great experiences that it cannot possibly
all be put into a 10 minute speech.
About William Trent, Robison said that when Will joined the scouts
he stated clearly that his primary objective was to become an Eagle.
Trent showed great leadership and was always helping the others, he
always volunteers for extra work and he always gets his work done.
Robison drew concluded, “All of these boys have totally earned their
rank.” He went on to say that they would be a tremendous asset to
society and their communities. Robison also noted that it is a group
effort, parents play a large role in the success of their scout
career. Also, he noted that the club itself does not succeed without
the dedication of the leaders and the assistant leaders.
Meador then recalled a story about David Papach. He said that the
group was at Elephant Rock in Missouri. They had arrived and were
just relaxing in the picnic area for a bit. The boys were “running
free.” Meador said that the guys have a buddy system and are not to
go exploring alone. But by-and-by, David’s buddy came to the picnic
area and announced that David was lost. He said that Evan (Derrick)
got a bit excited about the missing scout. He grabbed a stranger, a
lady there, and she called the sheriff. Meador said that there was a
hum all over the picnic area that a boy was lost. Meador said he
wasn’t lost, he had just wondered off, but there was a sense of
panic. The sheriff’s deputies showed up and were talking about
searches when out of the wood came David, happy as a lark for having
had a chance to explore.
The next portion of the ceremony included members of
the lower scout levels who worked on lighting the candles on the
Eagle Trail.
The Eagle Trail was symbolized by a wooden bridge placed in front of
the stage area at the Knights of Columbus. The young scouts each
were given long candles and at specific intervals during the Eagle
reading, the boys took turns lighting the votive candles on the
first half of the trail.
The candles were to represent the spirit of scouting.
Doug Hovel came forward and read passages that applied to each
candle as it was lit.
When the first half of the bridge was lit, the Eagle
prospects were called to the front of the room. Each Eagle was given
a candle. They crossed the bridge and then lit candles on the second
half of the bridge to signify the completion of their journey.
Assistant Leader Autum Robison was charged with
certifying that each of the five scouts had fulfilled their Eagle
requirements. She did so.
Finally, the five scouts were presented with their Eagle
designations and plaques to mark the occasion. The awards were
presented to the boys by Robison with happy smiles and big hugs for
each.
The scouts were then called upon to do the honors of
placing pins on their parents and grandparents beginning with
mothers, then fathers, then grandparents.
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The final event of the day was the presentation of
Mentor pins by the boys to the men of their choice who they felt had
influenced them and helped them the most on the journey to Eagle.
Elijah Burton
Burton chose two mentors, his father Joel and his Scout Leader Ed
Robison. Burton said that the pins could not signify all that the
two men meant to him or had done for him.
He said Robison always encouraged him and pushed him.
He made sure that Elijah was on track, earning all his badges along
the way and keeping him from dying on the camping trips. Joel was a
tremendous support, always encouraging and always waiting there for
him when he came home from a trip.
Burton said he also had a pin for Chris Graue, who wasn’t able to
attend on Sunday.
Evan Derrick
Evan Derrick began by thanking the many people from parents to
grandparents to leaders and fellow scouts who have influenced his
life and been part of his progress through his scouting career.
Evan chose Doug Hovel as his mentor and had also awarded Hovel with
the father pin during parent pinning. He said that Hovel had
influenced him greatly helping him to see what was important and who
he wanted to be in life. He said sometimes they argued, but they
always came back together and supported each other. He looked
forward to having Hovel continue supporting him in all that he
strives to do throughout his life.
David Papach
David Papach chose Mike Meador, Ed Robison and his dad Ray Papach.
David noted that the three have been with him every step of his
scouting career. He said that his dad supported him through thick
and thin and was always the one who pushed him to succeed. Robison
was a great leader who supports his guys, and is a best friend.
Meador has also been a large influence in David’s life and the new
Eagle said he would always be very grateful for everything Meador
has done to assist him along his journey.
Zachary Smith
Smith chose his dad David, and Ray Papach. Smith recalled that he
transferred into the Lincoln Pack at about the same time as the
Papach family moved to the area. They came to scouts together as
newbies and throughout the years Papach has become a leader in the
scouts who is respected and highly thought of by all, including
Smith. He said Papach was a great help and influence and that he
would always be grateful.
His dad, David Smith, has been a tremendous support for Zachary for
his entire life, and has seen him through all the adversities of
life and scouting as well as the good times. Zachary said he could
not have succeeded without the support of his dad.
William Trent
Lastly, Will Trent chose as his mentors Mike Meador and Scout Leader
McCraith who was not present Sunday. Will kept his statements short
saying that he had actually worked with five scout masters and all
had influenced his success and journey to Eagle. He chose those two
because they have been with him all along the way, even when their
own sons had aged out of the troops these leaders stayed on working
and helping him and others to grow in their scouting careers.
The last event of the day was a presentation by Troop Committee
Chair Kristen Green, who said that each of the five Eagles would be
given a packet of congratulatory letters from various government
officials from the President of the United States to state and local
leaders.
With the retiring of the colors, the afternoon was concluded.
Congratulations to all five young men for their hard work and
dedication. While they now join an elite group of scouts, only about
three percent of the total membership, they also join an elite group
of Logan County Scouts. The Lincoln troop 1102 has produced a large
number of Eagles over the years, with generally at least one or more
achieving the status every year or so.
[Nila Smith] |
