South Windsor High's Guay, Moran Achieve Rank of Eagle Scout

South Windsor High seniors Christopher Guay and Christopher Moran were added on Sunday afternoon to the rolls of Boy Scouts Troop 186 who have achieved the rank of Eagle.

Guay and Moran became the 79th and 80th Eagle Scouts, respectively, from their troop.

Both boys were honored at an Eagle Court of Honor ceremony at South Windsor Library attended by fellow scouts, family members and local dignitaries including Mayor Tom Delnicki, state Rep. Bill Aman and state Sen. Gary LeBeau.

For their Eagle projects, Guay mapped out Center Cemetery, identifying the graves of the veterans, while Moran removed, built and replaced 55 feet of raised wetland walkway at the Major Michael Donnelly Land Preserve in South Windsor

That both Guay and Moran achieved the rare feat - just 4 percent of all Boy Scouts in the nation in the last 20 years have reached the rank - is not entirely surprising as the distinction runs in their families.

Guay’s father, David, became an Eagle Scout 40 years ago, while Moran’s brothers Brian and William achieved the honor in 2010.

“I’m very proud,” David Guay said of his son before the ceremony. “One of the great things is that, going through scouts, I was able to go through it twice in a lifetime.”

Those who spoke, including troop leaders and elected officials, spoke to the same theme: both Guay and Moran have achieved a great distinction that will open doors for them later in life, but people will also expect a lot from them.

“That’s a very hard goal to achieve,” said Aman, who noted that he hired one of his interns, in part, due to his having been an Eagle Scout. “But you’ve got the foundation … to accomplish the things that people ask you to do in the future.”