A standing-room-only crowd was on hand to celebrate Boy Scout Troop 94’s newest Eagle Scouts yesterday afternoon at the Schiff Scout Reservation in Wading River.
Seven — yes, seven — Scouts in Troop 94 attained the rank of Eagle Scout, the Boy Scouts’ highest award. Fellow scouts, family members, friends and dignitaries gathered inside the camp’s dining hall for Eagle Court of Honor ceremonies led by Troop 94 Scoutmaster Frederick Stumm and Co-Scoutmaster Philip Kenter.
Requirements for the rank include earning at least 21 merit badges, exhibiting Scout spirit, an ideal attitude based upon the Scout oath and law, service and leadership. A requirement of the Eagle Scout award is the completion of an extensive service project that the Scout plans, organizes, leads, and manages. The project must must benefit an organization other than Boy Scouts of America — any religious institution, any school, or the community at large.
Only 4 percent of Boy Scouts are granted the rank of Eagle Scout after a lengthy review process.
Troop 94’s seven new Eagle Scouts are: Andrew Omeljaniuk, 19, of Kings Park; Alec Buczynski, 18, of Riverhead; Philip Kenter, 17, of Riverhead; Daniel Jones, 18, of Wading River; Erik Kaspar, 18, of Shoreham; Brandon Omeljaniuk, 17, of Kings Park;and Patrick Marchetti, 18, of Riverhead.
Ceremonies included the pinning of the Eagle Scout award on each young man, who in turn honored their parents with pins and also presented a special pin to a person he considers a special mentor.
In interviews, the newly minted Eagle Scouts each expressed their lifelong passion for Scouting and talked about how becoming an Eagle Scout was an ambition from their earliest days in the organization.
“I’ve always wanted to be an Eagle Scout,” said Philip Kenter. It’s something of a family attribute. His father, Troop 94’s co-scoutmaster, is an Eagle Scout and his uncles, Dennis and Kevin Kenter are also Eagle Scouts.
“Scouting teaches you to be averse to failure. It teaches perseverance,” the youngest Kenter Eagle Scout said.
The Eagle Scouts’ projects are the products of that perseverance.
Andrew Omeljaniuk, a student at Suffolk County Community College, refurbished an old fire siren for the Fireman’s Field Museum in Ridge. He took a siren that was corroded and completely restored it.
Alec Buczynski, a senior at Riverhead High School, completed a landscaping project at the Tesla Science Center in Shoreham. He cleaned the site, planted trees and bushes around the sign, spread topsoil and planted grass.
Philip Kenter, a senior at McGann-Mercy High School, built a composting site at the DEC headquarters in Stony Brook. He cleared a wooded area, put down ground cover and wood chips, erected a split-rail fence, three wooden composting bins and four recycling rotators. He also created signage to explain what goes in each bin.
Daniel Jones, 18, a freshman at Eastman School of Music, constructed a 50-foot-long pathway at Calverton NationalCemetery from the roadway to Section 24A. He cleared the land, excavated for a sand and gravel base, leveled the land and installed paving stones and a mulch border.
Erik Kaspar, 18, a freshman at SUNY/Brockport, refurbished a community bulletin board for the Village of Shoreham. He sanded and painted the board, stained its roof shingles and installed a new case.
Brandon Omeljaniuk, a senior at Kings Park High School, refurbished an Ansul fire extinguisher for the Fireman’s Field Museum in Ridge. He also installed posts and chains around the extinguisher display.
Patrick Marchetti, a senior at Riverhead High School, constructed a portable boat rack at Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck in Center Moriches.
Guests at yesterday’s ceremonies included State Assemblyman Anthony Palumbo, Riverhead Town Board members John Dunleavy and Jodi Giglio, representatives of the Wading River Fire and Riverhead fire departments, the Suffolk County Police Department, Riverhead VFW and local clergy members.
RiverheadLOCAL photos by Denise Civiletti
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