On Monday night, August 25, Rochester’s Boy Scout Troop 31 gathered at Grange Hall with their families to celebrate and conduct an Eagle Court of Honor Ceremony. Four boys were rising the ranks to become Eagle Scouts: Logan, Noah, Quinn, and Reece.
The boys had achieved their medals over the last few months, but all agreed to wait until they had all finished so they could hold a ceremony together, having spent years together in the Boy Scouts program, as said by Assistant Scoutmaster Kevin Gretton.
The Grand Hall was packed, with family members, fellow Boy Scouts, other Eagle Scouts both young and old, state government representatives, and Troop 31 leadership, who conducted the ceremony.
The event began with the boys seeking promotion coming in and sitting at the opposite end of their peers, with one of the four boys, Quinn, choosing to sit out the ceremony and instead work on his truck for an upcoming road trip as said by his father, Dave Andrews. The ceremony was conducted by Scout Leader Kevin Gretton and Chaplain Dave Andews, who went through the script and itinerary of Eagle Court of Honors held across the country.
Following the scouts saying the Scout Oath, twelve current scouts rose and lit twelve candles, reciting the “12 points” of Scout Laws, those being: trust, loyalty, helpfulness, friendliness, courtesy, kindness, obedience, cheerfulness, thriftiness, bravery, cleanliness, and reverence. Then, the three boys received their Eagle Scout Badge, placed an Eagle Mother Pin on their mothers’ collars, and placed a pin on their individual mentors for their now completed Eagle Projects.
The event concluded with the Boy Scouts and new Eagle Scouts cutting into a cake that bore their four names.
Rochester Troop 31 Eagle Court of Honor
By Sam Bishop