On Jan. 9, the Leatherstocking Council celebrated the lifelong achievements of 77 young men who attained the rank of Eagle Scout in 2016. Thirty-four of those Scouts and their families attended the recognition dinner at Harts Hill Inn in Whitesboro.
To achieve the rank of Eagle, Scouts must progress through a series of advancements that become increasingly more difficult and complex, requiring mastery of outdoor skills, citizenship, leadership and community service. Only 2 percent of approximately 100,000,000 Scouts across the United States have reached the rank of Eagle since 1910. Within the Leatherstocking Council, that number is closer to 6 percent.
These young men personify the Scout mission to grow young leaders as expressed by the event’s keynote speaker Peter D. Lopez, 102nd New York State Assembly District, an Eagle Scout from Schoharie County. Lopez shared several lessons he learned as a young man that continue to play out in his professional career.
The culmination of the Trail to Eagle is the Eagle Scout project. This service project must benefit the community and require the Scout to lead a team of volunteers to complete the project on time and to the satisfaction of the beneficiary. In 2016 the 77 Eagle Scouts from the Leatherstocking Council contributed more than 1,540 combined Eagle project service hours to the community.
Service is not new to these Scouts and the Leatherstocking Council. A recent analysis of service hours submitted by units in the Leatherstocking Council shows that a record number of community service hours have been recorded in 2016.
“If you combine all the service hours given by the units in our Council in 2016 you get a staggering number.” Said Steve McEwan, Scout Executive for the Leatherstocking Council “In 2016 there were 11,676 hours completed. As a point of reference, there are only 8,760 hours in one calendar year. Think about that, and what Scouting provides not just to our communities, but to the character building of the youth performing that service as well. It is a win-win.”