By Daily Press staff
Eight local members of the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 2 of Santa Monica, will be awarded the rank of Eagle Scout at ceremonies Sunday.
They will be honored for their exemplary efforts at a troop family reunion picnic followed by a court of honor starting at 1:30 p.m. at Camp Josepho Boy Scout Camp in Pacific Palisades.
The scouts to be honored are: ■Nicholas W. Bascue, 17; ■Alexander A. Farivar, 17; ■Daniel Fliegel, 16; ■Brandon Gunter, 18; ■Matthew S. Ishler, 17; ■John F. Muller, 17; ■Sean A. Theile, 17; ■Jameson T. Winthrop, 18. The Eagle rank honors extraordinary effort and leadership. The highest rank in scouting, it is earned by about two percent of all Boy Scouts. This year’s crop of eight Eagle scouts is the largest number fielded by Troop 2 since its inception in 1947.
To achieve the rank of Eagle, a scout must demonstrate proficiency in first aid, citizenship, camping, swimming and emergency preparedness. In addition, Eagle candidates must coordinate and complete a community service project that provides significant benefit to the community and involves at least 100 hours of effort by the young men, their families and other scouts. Candidates must also demonstrate significant leadership abilities while executing the project.
In a year that has seen significant funding cuts for education, many of the young men from Troop 2 devoted their attention to projects assisting local public schools.
Farivar and Gunter, both seniors at Santa Monica High School, did projects aimed at sprucing up the Samohi campus. Farivar organized and completed the construction of a new redwood fence around the school’s rose garden, while Gunter led a team that cleaned and repainted the steps of the school’s Greek Theater.
Muller, a Santa Monica resident and a senior at Harvard-Westlake School, organized a drive that collected more than 2,000 children’s books for La Ballona Elementary School, a primarily Hispanic Title I school in Culver City. Bascue, a student at Santa Monica’s Concord High School, led a team that built shelving for the salad garden at McKinley Elementary School in Santa Monica. McKinley students use the garden for science classes and for growing produce for their lunches.
The remaining four scouts chose projects dedicated to children, conservation, public health and supporting a local church. Those projects were: ■A drive that collected hundreds of toys for the Delta Sigma Theta State Preschool in Santa Monica, and the Gramercy House homeless shelter in West Los Angeles, conducted by Fliegel, a junior at Santa Monica High School; ■ºA fencing construction project to prevent erosion in the trails of Topanga State Park, conducted by Ishler, a junior at Samohi; ■The refurbishing and reorganization of the library at the First United Methodist Church of Santa Monica, organized by Theile, a senior at West Los Angeles Baptist High School; and ■A drive that collected more than 325 pairs of prescription eyeglasses, which were donated to the Lions Club International for people in developing countries, conducted by Winthrop, a junior at Santa Monica High School.
Troop 2 is one of the oldest and largest Boy Scout troops in the Western United States. By troop policy, Troop 2 does not engage in or condone discrimination of any kind. Since 1947, the group has seen more than 225 of its members attain the rank of Eagle.
For information on attending the picnic and court of honor, call Suzie Kim at 453- 5581.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 5, 2003. Read the original PDF.