Five members of Sewickley Troop 243 achieved their rank of Eagle Scout: Luke Hotchkiss, Will Maxwell, Will McKee, Eddie Ondek and Spencer Wiehe.

Since first awarded in 1912, only about 4 percent of Scouts have achieved this ranking. To do so, a Scout must not only display citizenship for the community, leadership and outdoor abilities, but must also earn 21 merit badges, 12 of which are required: first aid, camping, citizenship in the community, citizenship in the nation, citizenship in the world, personal management, personal fitness, swimming or hiking or cycling, communications, family life, emergency preparedness or lifesaving, and environmental science.

The Scout must also plan and implement a service project to benefit the community. The Scouts implemented the following:

• Luke Hotchkiss: Located and catalogued more than 400 trees of special significance in Sewickley and their associated memorial plaques to allow people to locate the trees, which honor and recognize individuals or groups.

• Will Maxwell: Painted the front of the Sewickley Community Center, built new doors for the pool storage unit, and built a new shelf in the unit.

• Will McKee: Revived a trail head for the Hollow Oak Land Trust by placing wood chips and picnic tables for a rest area.

• Eddie Ondek: Planted nearly 30 trees at The Legacy Fields in Bell Acres.

• Spencer Wiehe: Built two mountain biking bridges in North Park.

And once all of these steps were completed, each Scout had to undergo a rigorous board of review with his district, council, and troop leaders to evaluate his “attitude and practice of the ideals of Scouting.”

All of these steps must be accomplished before the Scout’s 18th birthday.

For more information on Troop 243, email Collette Semonik at csemonik@verizon.net.

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