Five Shawano teens earn Eagle Scout honors

Boys complete various service projects to better community
By: 
Luke Reimer
Reporter

Five Shawano Boy Scouts were recently honored with achieving their goal of being an Eagle Scout.

The five scouts, Will Crawford, Damon Montour, Chris Teeter, Owen Krueger and Gabe Bohm, were honored May 2 at Camp Joseph north of Shawano.

Unlike a typical celebration, those who were allowed to attend were limited to four guests per scout. A typical celebration would consist of family members of the scout being honored as well as extended family.

According to Troop 32 Scoutmaster Bob Smits, the five boys who were honored rose the ranks within the Boy Scout organization. The ranks are tenderfoot, second class, first class, star, life and finally eagle.

“Becoming an Eagle Scout is a lengthy process,” said Smits. “There are no guarantees to becoming an eagle.”

Smits said that it was a unique situation having five boys honored together, rather than one or two.

Troop 32 has seen close to 25 boys become Eagle Scouts in the last 10 years, with 53 total in the troop’s existence.

Smits said that only 4% of all scouts end up becoming Eagle Scouts.

In order to become an Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts must finish several steps along the way. These steps include earning the 12 required merit badges and nine elective merit badges, serving in a leadership role within the troop for a total of 16 months, and serving at least 13 hours on a service project. In addition to these steps, the Boy Scouts also create a proposal for a service project, they draw up the plan and they lead a team of scouts to bring the project to fruition.

The process of becoming an Eagle Scout ends with the Boy Scouts speaking to the board of review from the Bay Lakes Council, based in Appleton.

Crawford completed a project that revolved around building beds for dogs at the Shawano County Humane Society. Montour moved and refurbished a playground set for Bridge the Gap Inc. Teeter cleaned and restored paths, as well as built benches for St. James retreat. Krueger built a pergola and rest area along the Mountain Bay Trail for Shawano Pathways. Bohm added landscaping around the flag poles at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Shawano. In total, scouts and volunteers put in a combined 430 hours of time.

“The projects are not about the length of time,” said Smits. “They are about the process — the scouts learn how to create a proposal, how to draw up a plan, they figure out who to get into communication with, and they serve as the leader of the project.”

According to Smits, the projects are meant to give back to the community.

“The community supports the Boy Scouts by donating money or items, giving us a place to hold meetings, supporting fundraisers and giving their time to share talents and places of business,” said Smits. “These projects give back to the community.”

Smits said that through the process of becoming an Eagle Scout and leading these projects, the boys learn lessons that can be used for the rest of their lives.

“These lessons do not end at 18 years old,” said Smits. “This process teaches them leadership and builds character — things they will use for the rest of their lives.”

He said perseverance is taught in the Boy Scouts as they rise the ranks to Eagle Scout.

“The final steps of this journey were not easy in the year of a pandemic, but each persevered and reached their goal,” said Smits.

According to Smits, Troop 32 has 37 scouts and he hopes that the number continues to grow.

“The Boy Scouts are a phenomenal organization,” said Smits. “It is a great foundation for the youth to become great adults.”