Boy Scout Troop 10 in St. Charles names two new Eagle Scouts

Submitted by Boy Scout Troop 10

Boy Scout Troop 10 recently welcomed two new Eagle Scouts into the Court of Honor May 25 at St. Patrick Parish in St. Charles.

Ÿ Kevin Tierney, a recent graduate of St. Charles East High School, is the son of Greg and Marylin Tierney and younger sibling to John and James. He is a four-year member of the St. Charles East band and orchestra, playing the tuba and stand-up bass.

He is an active participant in the East High School Drama Department as both an actor and crew member. Kevin has been active in a variety of extracurricular activities, including the debate team, water polo, track, as well as a founding member of East’s Philosophy Club. While a student at East he received the East High School Human Relations Award for being the school mascot.

His Scouting career began in first grade as a Tiger Cub in Davis School’s Pack 108. Deb Griffin was his primary Den Leader. He earned his Bobcat, Wolf, Bear, and Webelos ranks until he achieved the Arrow of Light Award, the highest award given to a Cub Scout.

He thoroughly enjoyed his Cub Scouting years and believes that the foundation was set for continuing his Scouting career.

Kevin crossed over into Boy Scouting and joined Troop 10 in 2006. After joining Troop 10, he participated in many weekly troop meetings, monthly campouts, summer camps and a few high adventure trips. Kevin held many positions in the troop, including Quartermaster, Troop Guide, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader and the coveted Senior Patrol Leader role for the winter session.

Over the course of his Scouting experience, Kevin has been on numerous campouts, traveling and visiting many states with his Scouting friends and leaders. Kevin has earned 27 Merit Badges and several religious awards, including the Ad Altare Dei and the Pope Pius religious awards.

He had the honor of camping on and conquering Mt. Baldy in the Philmont Scout Ranch alongside his father Greg in 2011. He was also inducted as a member of the Order of the Arrow.

Kevin’s Eagle Project involved building a wigwam for the St. Charles Park District. He chose this Eagle Scout project for a few reasons. He remembered visiting the wigwam as a third-grader, he knew it was an important part of the St. Charles school curriculum and this project presented the type of challenge he was seeking for his Eagle project.

The project began at Keim Park in St. Charles, where Kevin and his crew cut and gathered around 60 invasive species of trees that were 15 to 20 feet long. These trees were then loaded onto a park district truck and transported to the Hickory Knolls Nature Preserve. Once at the park, each tree had to be stripped of its bark using a linoleum knife. The stripping of the bark was an easy but time consuming task, but Kevin’s crew of Scouts arrived each time to lend a helping hand.

Finally, the day to erect the wigwam had arrived. After many trials and errors, the wigwam stood solid and strong for hundreds of third-graders to visit and enjoy each fall for many years to come.

Kevin’s future plans involve attending Appalachian State University in Boon, N.C. ASU is situated in the Appalachian Mountains, where all of the skills Kevin has learned in his Scouting career will be put to the test. He is considering a major in geology with a minor in a foreign language or business.

Kevin would like to thank everyone who provided him with opportunities to grow as a Scout and a man. First his parents, Greg and Marylin, who have always stood by him throughout his whole Scouting career. He also would like to thank his Cub Scout Den Leader Griffin and his Scoutmasters for Troop 10, Steven Jolly, Jeff Ricketts, Dave Markowicz and Tom Greiter.

Ÿ Eric Vonderhaar, who will be a senior next year at Aurora Central Catholic High School, is the son of Chris and Carol Vonderhaar and sibling to Kelly, Joe and Alex. He is a member of the ACC Chess Team and also enjoys fencing, bowling and soccer. He plays the piano and has participated in the American Grands concert, as well as playing on several occasions at local retirement homes and helping serve refreshments to the elderly residents.

As well as being altar server at church for seven years, he has worked at vacation Bible school for many summers, serving as a Crew Guide for younger students and also as an assistant with the Crafts and Science Stations.

Eric began his Scouting career as a Tiger Cub Scout in first grade. He enjoyed the activities and moved up through the years, earning his Bobcat, Wolf, Bear and Webelo badges. He also earned the Light of Christ and Parvuli Dei religious awards.

Eric attended Cub Scout summer camp at Good Templar Park in Geneva during several summers. After he crossed over to Boy Scouts, he attended summer camp every year at various locations, where he worked on many of his merit badges.

Eric has earned a total of 36 merit badges during his six years in Boy Scouts. He also earned the Ad Altare Dei and Pope Pius XII religious awards. He held several positions within Troop 10, including Librarian, Troop Guide, Assistant Patrol Leader, and Patrol Leader. He completed the Thunderbird National Youth Leadership Training in Rochelle, Ill.

His Eagle Project involved preparing and painting the northern section of the Durant-Peterson House at LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve in St. Charles. Eric was very interested in doing a project for one of the local forest preserves. After contacting several people in regard to finding a project, Eric met with Alice Maupin, director of the Durant-Peterson House Museum and member of the Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley.

Maupin suggested a few projects and Eric decided that the painting project would be best suited to be his Eagle Project. Eric met with Maupin, as well as Anthony Brescia, a senior park ranger at LeRoy Oakes, on several occasions to discuss what the project would entail and what times would be available for the project work to take place.

Since the Durant-Peterson House has public events and tours on a regular basis, Eric wanted to schedule the work so that it would not cause any disruption of normal activity for the museum and its director and docents, as well as the preserve employees. Matt Bales, as Eric’s project mentor, guided Eric in the planning and recommended the tools/equipment he would need.

Sherwin-Williams of St. Charles donated all the primer and paint. Lowe’s, Walmart and Menards all donated toward the other materials, tools and supplies. Sam’s Club, Jewel-Osco, and Subway all donated food and drinks for the people working on the project.

When it was discovered that there was lead in the paint chips from the older paint that needed to be scraped, Sherwin-Williams came through for Eric again and donated a protective suit, mask and respirator that could be used for the safe removal of the paint.

After the paint had been removed, all of the paint chips were cleared away from the building and the ground before the priming began. Although the drought was not helpful for farmers last summer, it provided a dry environment to prime and paint the house, and the mosquito population was much lower than expected, which made the whole project go much more smoothly.

Eric felt that this project taught him a lot about project planning and working through problems that can arise.