Scout Sunday, February 8, 2009

The Eagles Have Landed!

If you missed the Sunday morning 11 o'clock service yesterday, you missed a treat. We had Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Scout Dads and Scoutmasters galore. Earl Davis told me he saved about 140 seats. I can't ever remember a crop of Scouts like this at First. We recognized these young men before the service, and we also asked all the Eagle Scouts present to stand. There was a hush of awe as dozens stood, all around the building, and then a spontaneous expression of recognition. Many have remarked to me how special it was.

For the young men involved in scouting, there is no greater achievement than attaining the rank of "Eagle Scout". Statistics tell us that fewer than 5% of boys who get involved in scouting ever achieve the penultimate rank of Eagle, but there are a lot of 11 and 12 year old scouts who go to sleep at night reading their Boy Scout Handbook and dreaming of the crowning accomplishment.

At Troop 18 we have awarded 8 young men their EAGLE this year. Many of these young men are covenant sons of our church, which sponsors Troop 18 through the Christian Education Department. Since our inception in 1922, Troop 18 has had the distinction of awarding 270 Eagle Medals.

If you visit one of our Courts of Honor or look at the Plaques adjacent to the FPC Sanctuary, you will see the wooden boards with the names of all of out Troop 18 Eagles. It reads like a "Who's Who" of civic leaders . . . judges, teachers, elected officials, doctors, fathers, church leaders, and influential men of our community.

Troop 18 is very proud of the 11 young men who achieved the rank of Eagle in 2008. They are:

Thompson Moore
William Carpenter
John Frey
Elliot Guffin
Luke Love
Nelson Parker
Stuart Ramsey
Jack Taylor
Jay Vise
Buckner Corso
Davis Abraham

To get more information about the activity of our Troop, please visit their website at http://www.troop18.org/.