Five eagles get their wings

Last Saturday evening five local boys from troop 188 of Sisters received their Eagle Scout award, the highest rank in the Boy Scouts. The Court of Honor was held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and included a dinner, display and the presentation. Close to 100 people attended, filling the church chapel.

To achieve this status, boys must be active members of the Boy Scouts who have advanced through all of the previous ranks. They then have to accomplish all the tasks required of an Eagle Scout, including a large service project to benefit a religious organization, school, or community.

Brogan Petterson’s service project was the completion of a number of campsites at the Sisters airport. The campsites had fire rings, tables, and were outlined and numbered.

For Josh Liddell’s project he built 10 wooden desks for the nonprofit organization in Redmond called Beulah’s Place, a shelter for homeless and abused teens.

Ryun Ford organized a food drive in Layton, Utah and was able to collect more than 500 pounds of food to donate to the Ogden Rescue Mission.

The Camp Polk Cemetery now has some new gravestone markers made of laser-cut steel thanks to Aaron Johnson.

Lastly Drew Ellis Collins-Burke built flower boxes for the Sisters Middle School, filled them with soil and planted them with an assortment of flowers.

Porter Liddell conducted the ceremony. While parents looked on, each scout was presented his award by Scoutmaster Eric Liddell along with a pin for his mother, one for his father, and a mentor pin to give away. Then his green kerchief was exchanged for a blue Eagle Scout kerchief. He then gave a short talk to the audience.

The newly minted Eagle Scouts took their seats and listened intently while Eagle Scout and former scoutmaster Bruce Kemp gave a talk on the values scouting instills in the boys.

“Becoming an Eagle Scout is a highly prestigious honor and is achieved by only about 2 percent of those who begin in the scouting program. Along with completing a broad range of outdoor hiking, camping and survival activities, he has gained extensive knowledge and completed tasks in a wider range of areas that prepare him to help his fellow men. He has committed to living a life with moral integrity as he commits himself to his duty to God, his country and his fellow men, “ Kemp noted.

In addition to their award from the Boy Scouts, Ren Broomhead presented each scout with a knife handcrafted by Mac McKibbin, a former resident of the area who has been making these traditional gift knives for the local Eagle Scouts for many years.

Scoutmaster Liddell concluded the program with a talk and a slide presentation highlighting many of the scouts’ often-humorous adventures and accomplishments.

“I love the scouting program and how it teaches boys leadership skills, outdoor skills and builds confidence. It has been a fantastic experience for me to spend time with the boys in the scouting program over the last six years,” he said.