Six Local Scouts awarded Eagle rank with Troop 16

SYCAMORE - Six local Boy Scouts from Troop 16 in Sycamore were recently awarded the Eagle Rank, the highest award achievable in Boy Scouts.

Recipients of this high honor include Chris Meyer, Keagon Larsen, Matt Slider, Preston Ruud, David Ruetten, and Paul Ruetten.

This special awards ceremony arranged by the boys and their parents was recently held at the Federated Church in Sycamore. This ceremony recognized the boys for their achievement of learning new skills by earning a minimum of 21 merit badges, staying active in their troop for several years, living by the Principles of the Scout Oath and Scout Law, and completing a service project that benefited the community in some way. Each scout organized and planned their own service projects.

Some projects benefited St. Mary's School in Sycamore which included building an 8- by 10-foot wooded storage shed to store playground equipment, building four park benches, and installing a foot path for their playground. Additional Eagle projects included improving the outside of the Sycamore History Museum by removing, repairing, and painting all of the shudders; refurbishing an antique drinking fountain from the old Sycamore High School and making it into a water feature at the Sycamore High School courtyard; organizing a community book drive and donating them to needy families that utilize the Sycamore United Methodist Church Food Pantry; and building two mobile raised flower beds for the residents of Oak Crest.

All of these requirements must be completed before their 18th birthday. This is quite an achievement as only about five percent of all Boy Scouts achieve the rank of Eagle. This makes it a prestigious award that is recognized by colleges and all branches of the armed forces.

The Eagle Court of Honor ceremony for six new Eagle Scouts was led by Troop 16 Scoutmaster Tim Ruetten, and included the presentation of the Eagle Scouts, guest speakers state Rep. Robert Pritchard and Jim Dombek, and special presentations of the Eagle Scout Medal, Eagle Scout Badge, a Mother's pin, a Father's tie tack, and a Mentor pin.

These Eagle Scouts include four freshmen, one junior, and one senior, all attending Sycamore High School. All of them began their trail to Eagle when they joined scouting in Cub Scouts during elementary school and experienced their trail to Eagle together in their 10-year scouting careers. Each Eagle Scout plans to remain active in scouting with Troop 16 and plans to experience future high adventure trips.

Troop 16 is a strong troop with over 44 active Scouts. Any boy age 11 to 18 is invited to join; no past scouting experience or background is required. Troop 16 meets most Sunday evenings from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Federated Church in Sycamore. For more information about Troop 16, call Scoutmaster Tim Ruetten at (815) 895-4940.