Six local Scouts awarded Eagle rank with Troop 16

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

Recipients were Chris Meyer, Keagon Larsen, Matt Slider, Preston Ruud, David Ruetten and Paul Ruetten.

An awards ceremony, arranged by the boys and their parents, was held at the Federated Church in Sycamore.

To receive the Eagle rank, each Scout earned a minimum of 21 merit badges, was active in his troop for several years, lived by the Principles of the Scout Oath and Scout Law, and completed a service project that benefited the community.

Scouts organized and planned their own service projects. Some projects benefited St. Mary’s School in Sycamore. which included building an 8-foot-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 shutters; 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 the bookd to needy families that use the Sycamore United Methodist Church Food Pantry; and building two mobile raised flower beds for the residents of Oak Crest.

The Eagle Court of Honor ceremony for six new Eagle Scouts was lead 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 years of Scouting. Each Eagle Scout plans to remain active in Scouting with Troop 16 and plans to take part in future high adventure trips.

For information about Troop 16, call Scoutmaster Tim Ruetten at 815-895-4940.