Life

Sixteen area Scouts earned Eagle rank, completed projects in 2012

Graham Grant Duncan, of Troop 624 in Mills River, speaks to the Mills River Town Council last summer about the footbridge he built as his Eagle project.

By Bill Moss, Published: April 12, 2013

Boy Scouts marked their 100th birthday in 2012 and in that year the Terroroa District, made up of Henderson and Transylvania counties, saw 16 Scouts achieve the rank of Eagle.

The Eagle rank requires the Scout to earn 21 merit badges, serve as a Life scout and in a troop leadership role for six months and show scout spirit. The required merit badges are First Aid, Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the Nation, Citizenship in the World, Communications, Personal Fitness, Emergency Preparedness or Lifesaving, Environmental Science, Personal Management, swimming or hiking or cycling, camping and family life.
In addition, the Scout must plan, develop and lead a service project that benefits a religious institution, school or community (scout property itself is not eligible) and, finally, take part in a Scoutmaster Conference and Board of Review.
The service project is important in Scouting, here and around the world. It's the most visible part of an Eagle candidate's requirements. Residents in Henderson County can see the results in bridges at parks, flower beds, flag poles, church youth group rooms, park benches and picnic tables. In 2012 Eagle candidates in the Terroroa District recorded 1,956 hours of work on these service projects and raised $10,380 — not counting the boys' labor.
Writing in The Wall Street Journal last August, Michael Malone, an Eagle Scout and author of "Four Percent," a new history of the Eagle rank, wrote that the "dissertation" of the Eagle process has helped communities for 100 years. Scouting, which turned 100 in 2010, celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Eagle rank last year.
"You cannot read a small town newspaper in America without running across the story of an Eagle service project at least once a month," Malone wrote. Only recently, the National Eagle Scout Association decided to add up the total work of all the Eagle projects ever completed. "It came to the jaw-dropping total of 100 million hours of service," Malone wrote. "Eagle Scouts are adding more than three million hours each year."
Nearly 2,000 of those took place here. Here is the list of 2012 Eagles, their troop, date of review and the service projects they completed:

• Gregory Alex Vanden Heuval - T-622 (DOR 1/4/12) 83 hours / $248.00; Planters for 'Reach for Independence' special needs Adult Day Care
• Aaron Bradley Davenport – T-622 (DOR 1/23/12) 229 hours / $1984.00; Prayer shelter in cemetery @ Mills River United Methodist Church
• William Dylan Stiles – T-624 (DOR 3/29/12) 35 hours / $242.00; Construction of a chicken coop @ Historic Johnson Farm
• David Paul Demirgian – T-628 (DOR 4/19/12) 179 hours / $190.00; Renovation & storage shelving for Middle Grade School Youth Room @ First Presbyterian Church.
• Jeffery Blake Curd – T-605 (DOR 5/15/12) 106 hours / $1032.00; Install flagpole & planting @ Edneyville Fire & Rescue Station #2
• William Edward Henry McDade – T-610 (DOR 5/7/12) 103 hours / $605.00; Map & Compass training course for the Henderson County Rescue Squad
• Cory Michael Ecker – T-701 (DOR 5/23/12) 101 hours / $300.00; Construct recycling bins @ Bread of Life facility.
• Drew Russell Schweikert – T-628 (DOR 9/11/12) 71 hours / $522.00; Construct swing & landscape area on walking trail @ VA Medical Center
• Ronnie Gunner Monroe – T-628 (DOR 9/27/12) 153 hours / $562.00; Landscaping and cabin path repairs @ Luther Ridge
• Kevin Joseph Elliott – T-701 (DOR 10/11/12) 134 hours / $1144.00; Construction of covered bench and storage cabinet @ Silvermont Park tennis courts
• Graham Grant Duncan – T-624 (DOR 10/23/12) 171 hours / $649.00; Construction of a footbridge @ Mills River Town Park
• Ethan T. Nix – T-605 (DOR 10/29/12 125 hours / $689.00; Install a flag pole and lighting @ Edneyville Community Center.
• Sean Glen Bogin – T-601 (DOR 11/7/12) 61 hours / $345.00; Construct benches & stage @ Hendersonville Elementary School Nature Trail
• Robert Scott Kicklighter –T-605 (DOR 11/12/12) 150 hours / $1042.00; Landscaping @ Apple Valley Middle School.
• Andrew Michael Cass – T-605 (DOR 11/17/12) 88 hours / $360.00; Construction of meditation bench area @ Edneyville United Methodist Church
• Ryan Addison Haynes – T-610 (DOR 12/10/12) 167 hours / $466.00; Construct picnic tables @ East Flat Rock First Methodist Church