Troop 248 Eagle Court of Honor

In a small ceremony on Friday evening, ScoutsBSA Troop 248 celebrated their two newest Eagle Scouts, Rex Schrader and Javier Matayabas.

Due to the circumstances of social distancing, only 9 persons were present at the ceremony, but thanks to the wonder of technology, many more were able to watch the live zoom meeting via Facebook Live.

Both scouts are unique in that their Eagle advancement and project work bridged two Scoutmasters - most of their accomplishments coming under Scoutmaster Emeritus Steve Sookikian, who stepped down this past season to become Troop Committee Chairman. That meant the honor of convening his first Eagle ceremony fell to incoming Scoutmaster Eli Doane.

Both young men were well-mentored by our Scoutmasters, as both Scoutmasters also earned the Eagle badge in their youth.

Attaining the rank of Eagle requires dedication and commitment, and can take several years for a scout to accomplish. Leadership roles must be fulfilled, and leadership demonstrated at the Troop level. Twenty-one merit badges including life skills such as Citizenship, Financial management, First Aid and even Cooking must be earned. Finally, there is the Eagle Project. Deceptively simple according to the requirements, which state: "While a Life Scout, plan, develop, and give leadership to others in a service project helpful to any religious institution, any school, or your community. (The project must benefit an organization other than the Boy Scouts of America.)"

Both scouts chose to improve local park areas.

Rex worked with the city, and on short notice was able to assemble a work crew of approximately a dozen persons, and supervised the building and installation of several "dog obstacles" to improve and enhance an under-utilized dog run off the Metropolitan State Parkway.

Javier's project was in Prospect Hill Park; working with the Parks and Rec department. Several miles of under-utilized trails were identified for improvement, and Javi led a team that scouted the trails, identified how many trail markers would be needed, and installed temporary markings over the course of two weekends.

Earning the rank of Eagle is a lifetime accomplishment, and only approximately 4% of all registered Boy Scouts reach this achievement.

Both Rex and Javier have family history in scouting as well; Rex's older brother Max also earned Eagle in Troop 248, and his mother served as a Cubmaster, while Javier is a third-generation scouter, with his father and grandfather spending many decades in a variety of Scouting roles throughout the district.

The Eagle Ceremony is available for viewing at the Troop's Facebook page, which can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/Troop248/