5 become Eagle Scouts

Five members of Boy Scouts Troop 150 became Eagle Scouts during a Court of Honor on May 14.

Eagle Scout is the highest achievement that can be earned in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) after many years of service and leadership that culminates in a service project that benefits the local community.

James Weisbeck, 18; Gavin Denmead, 18; Colin Muller, 18; Shea Harrison, 17; and Brendan Del Coro, 16, each received the rank during an Eagle Scout Court of Honor. This is a ceremony that the Scouts refer to as “Scouting’s greatest moment.”

All of the new Eagle Scouts are residents of Sparta and have been participating in Scouts since they were 10 years old.

“Scouting has been a very influential part of my life, giving me lifelong friends (and) lessons in teamwork and leadership and how to be the best version of myself,” Harrison said.

Each boy took on a different service project:

• Weisbeck renovated the playground behind Our Lady of the Lake Church in Sparta.

• Denmead constructed 16 book-share libraries around Lake Mohawk.

• Muller removed and replaced the split-rail fencing around the playground at Our Lady of the Lake Church.

• Harrison teamed with Family Promise in Newton to run a drive that filled 100 backpacks with school supplies.

• Del Coro built horseshoe pits at Lakeview Park.

Watching them grow

The Eagle Scouts have been led by Scoutmaster Joe Fucito since they joined the troop. He has been participating in Scouting since he joined as a second-grader in 1967. He joined Troop 150 in 2002 and became Scoutmaster in 2009.

Fucito said one aspect of Scouts BSA that is different from other scouting organizations is that a troop consists of boys ages 10-17. The mixed ages encourage growth and leadership, he said. “An 11-year-old learns to be a leader from a youth leader.”

Fucito had the opportunity to watch the five new Eagle Scouts mature into young men and leaders in the troop.

Muller called the focus on developing leaders a cornerstone of the Scouts BSA experience. “I feel that Scouting has helped to teach me how to be a good role model, good person, but more importantly, a servant leader,” he said.

The Scouts learn how to lead by watching older members. “The importance of leading by example is something often overlooked,” he added.

Denmead said his service project evolved from a plan for six beach book-share libraries to the construction of 16 libraries. Inspired by his grandfather’s love of reading and woodworking, he had each library dedicated to someone that the beach community wanted to commemorate.

“Learning the importance of community, and that even the smallest person can play a part, urged me to pick up some slack and continue working for a better tomorrow in Sparta,” he said.

Taste for adventure

Del Coro said, “The BSA has shaped me into who I am today. It has instilled within me a sense of duty and a need for adventure.”

Among the adventures that he and the other Eagle Scouts experienced were sailing in the Florida Keys, backpacking through the Presidential Mountain Range in New Hampshire and, most recently, a six-day white-water rafting trip down the New River in West Virginia during which the Scouts navigated dangerously high rapids.

“Scouting has given me many opportunities to lead others and sometimes fail but improve on my mistakes to the point where I can now feel confident in leading myself and others to successfully complete any task,” Del Coro added.

Three of the five Eagle Scouts will go to college in the fall.

Denmead will attend West Virginia University, where he will major in criminology and participate in Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC).

Weisbeck will attend High Point University in North Caroline and will major in entrepreneurship.

Muller will attend Queens University of Charlotte, also in North Carolina, where he will major in business and run cross country and winter and spring track.

Weisbeck said his Scouting experiences and his achievement of Eagle Scout have given him valuable tools for his future.

“My main takeaway from scouting will be the leadership skills I learned. I have and will use these the rest of my life whether it’s on the job, in the classroom or any other paths life may take me down.”