A Boy Scout lives by an oath: “On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.” The Boy Scouts of each troop recite this oath every time they congregate. These young men demonstrate leadership within their troop as well as their community, moving up in rank to reach the ultimate stature: the rank of Eagle Scout.

Senior Jason Choy of Boy Scout Troop 380 and seniors Ian Kausch and Dean Manning of Boy Scout Troop 385 have recently attained the rank of Eagle Scout, joining their high school peers Nathan Albert, Jason Graber and Nicky Gutierrez. The seniors have participated in numerous troop camping trips and service projects; in addition, they have earned at least 21 merit badges, including First Aid, Communication, Swimming, and so on. Choy voiced how a scout works up through ranks.

“Upon joining Boy Scouts, you are nothing. You have no rank and that is where you start. You have to fulfill a bunch of requirements to get to Scout rank, and from Scout rank you move up . . . . Starting with First Class [rank,] you are given some positions of responsibility, and that is a requirement to earn the ranks of Star, Life and onto Eagle. Throughout this journey of meeting requirements and ranking up, we would earn merit badges simultaneously, so we would not have to earn all 21 at the last minute,” Choy said.

Throughout their scouting careers, the Eagle Scouts had conferences with their Troopmasters to understand their goals and express their satisfaction with their experience in the program. After each review with the Troopmaster, a review board confirms that the scouts have completed their work and demonstrated the competencies associated with that work. Scouts then undertake an Eagle Scout project, which is a contribution of charitable effort. The board of the charity reviews the project, and then the proposal is reviewed by the people at the Scout Troop level and then at the council level. A project coach from outside of the troop works with the scout undertaking the project. Once the scout satisfactorily completes his Eagle Scout project, he files an application with the troop to become an Eagle Scout and has one final review board. They review the scout and his scouting career, determining whether he has met the objectives of the program. Manning explained his project, and who contributed to motivating him during his undertaking.

“My project was [building] four flower window boxes and a bench for the Barberton Community Pregnancy Center, a pro-life non-profit [organization]. I chose this project because I like the beneficiary and other projects could have worked, this is just one that clicked . . . . My mom was a big help. She pushed me and kept me going to get Eagle,” Manning said.

Choy’s Eagle project entailed maintenance work at the quarry in Peninsula. He removed the driveway’s dead overhanging trees and filled the potholes in the driveway, eliminating a major safety hazard for the frequent visitors. Kausch built a fenced-off area in the Richfield community area; his project created an enclosed space in which dogs and their owners can safely play.

Boy Scouts who have attained Eagle Scout rank are expected to continue their commitment to the Troop, participating in service projects and maintaining active involvement. At age eighteen a scout must exit the troop; Eagle Scouts at age eighteen are expected to file to become adult leaders within the troop, encouraging younger scouts to join Boy Scouts and providing the support and encouragement they received as scouts. Choy voiced the significance of his participation in Boy Scouts and how it will affect his future.

“Being a boy scout means applying skills that are helpful in life and benefitting others. It means duty to a higher being, duty to my country, and duty to myself to other people . . . . People know that they can count on you to do something whether it is making cookies for someone, or saving someone’s life. People depend on you to do that,” Choy said.

Chris Ulinski is the Scoutmaster for Troop 385, serving as the leader for the Boy Scouts of this troop for seven years. According to Ulinski, the Boy Scouts work at their own pace, learning skills necessary in outdoor environments, as well as other practical skills such as building fire and working with knots and lashes. He ensures his scouts continue to provide acts of service, work on various service projects and show leadership within the troop. Ulinski voiced the qualities of a Boy Scout, and how these qualities are magnified once one becomes an Eagle Scout.

“Boy Scouts are people who tend to work on establishing independence and self-sufficiency, becoming involved in service, developing leadership abilities and developing competencies in very practical areas that are going to be relevant to them in their adult lives. Being an Eagle Scout is a further extension of this, where the boy learns to take executive responsibility with planning a project, working with a charitable organization, providing an act of service, showing leadership to his Scout Troop and others in addition to achieving a charitable purpose,” Ulinski said.

The date for Choy’s Eagle Scout awarding ceremony is to be determined.

Troop 385 held an Eagle Scout awarding celebration for Albert, Kausch and Manning on December 17, 2016. As Kausch was recognized as the one-hundredth Boy Scout to pass through Troop 385 that has attained the Eagle Scout rank, he and his father tasked themselves with inviting all of Troop 385’s Eagle Scouts since the troop’s inception in 1931. According to Kausch, the process of inviting previous troop members to the banquet was difficult.

“Most of the work that I did contacting the previous Eagle Scouts was checking the lists that we already had with the council records and obituary records. The work that I did took up a surprising amount of time. Most of the time was spent asking for council records and with validating obituary records,” Kausch said.

Seventeen previous Eagle Scouts up to 80s and 90s in age attended the ceremony. Ulinski considered the celebration an extraordinary success and appreciated the interaction between generations of Boy Scouts. He looks forward to the future of his troop and of the Boy Scouts organization.