Five Scounts from same troop make Eagle

The Boy Scouts of America has awarded five local Scouts, all from the same troop and patrol, Scouting’s highest rank, the rank of Eagle Scout. Nationally, only 4 percent of Boy Scouts achieve this rank.

In separate recent ceremonies, Derek Breese, John Eganhouse, Cole Manschot and Anthony Roman of Winfield Boy Scout Troop 575 received their Eagle awards, along with Mike Weinberg, who received his award in 2011.

All boys are from the Bison Patrol. With these five new recipients, the Eagle rank has been awarded to 41 Scouts from Troop 575.

As part of their award ceremonies, the boys received letters of congratulations from people and organizations that included The National Park Service; NASA; Sen. John Glenn; Illinois members of Congress; Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn; former Vice President Al Gore; former Presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Jimmy Carter; and President Barack Obama.

These five boys join the ranks of Eagle Scouts around the world, some of whom have gone on to become military leaders, scientists, doctors, astronauts, supreme court justices, Olympic athletes, corporate CEOs, recording artists, governors and a U.S. president.

The requirements for the rank of Eagle include being proficient in outdoor skills and earning 21 merit badges that represent work in areas such as citizenship, first aid, personal fitness, lifesaving and environmental science.

The rank also requires planning and managing a community service project in which they demonstrate leadership of others. Typically, service projects take months to plan and days to complete.

Between the merit badge requirements and the service project, each boy spends many years and thousands of hours studying and training to reach the rank of Eagle.

Roman and Eganhouse are recent graduates of Wheaton Warrenville South High School. Breese, Manschot and Weinberg are recent graduates of Wheaton North High School.

Winfield Boy Scout Troop 575 is made up of Scouts from throughout western DuPage County. The troop is known for its commitment to the community, developing moral character and leadership, and producing scouts with exceptional outdoor skills.