On Friday, April 21, Troop 111 of the Boy Scouts of America held its annual Court of Honor Dinner at Utica Elks Lodge #33. In attendance were guests from the Leatherstocking Council Boy Scouts of America, Scouts and Troop leaders of Troop 111, friends and family of the Scouts and members of Utica Lodge #33, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the sponsoring organization of Troop 111.
The program included presentations of promotions in rank and merit badges earned during 2016 and a welcome was extended to the new Scouts who recently joined Troop 111.
The Scouts and their Scout leaders had the promotions and merit badges as a well-organized priority for the year and every scout achieved great success as a result. The leaders of the Troop were also recognized for their efforts in organizing the number of outdoor and camping activities that occurred during the warm and cold parts of the year.
An Eagle Scout Court of Honor ceremony was held to honor and celebrate Roman Grzesik achieving the Rank of Eagle Scout. Eagle Scout is achieved by only a small percentage of Scouts, yet Roman is the 69th Scout from Troop 111 to receive this honor. The two large plaques hanging in our Lodge Room have the names of every Eagle Scout in the history of Troop 111; Roman and his brother, Walter Jr. (2014), are the most recent winners of the Eagle Scout award.
Walter Jr. and Roman worked separately at a joint Eagle Scout Project of refurbishing an old Presbyterian Church cemetery from the 1700-1800s in Sauquoit. Walt cleared the area, re-erecting and cleaning headstones and built a wooden sign for the cemetery from trees cleared from the site. Roman continued what his brother had started by further clearing the site, erecting a flagpole and lighting, and built a wooden fence with pieces hewn from the felled trees on the site. Utica Lodge #33 is both proud and honored to be affiliated with Boy Scout Troop 111 and presented Eagle Scout Gzesik with a framed Certificate of Achievement from Grand Lodge and a 3’ x 5’ American flag properly folded in a flag display case.
Congratulations all!