Six Santa Monica teenagers will be awarded the highest rank one can earn in the Boy Scouts of America on Sunday June 12.
Parker Racie Furlong, Ronald JJ Hawthorne Harris-Gavin, Aiden Jeffrey Metz, Matthew Lee Morawiec, Sasha Steffes, and Eli Warshauer will be honored with the rank of Eagle Scout at the Troop 2 Eagle Court of Honor to be held at Camp Josepho.
Furlong, Warshauer, Metz and Morawiec are Juniors at Santa Monica High School; Steffes is a Senior at Crespi Carmelite High School; Harris-Gavin is a Senior at Santa Monica High School.
The Eagle rank honors exemplary effort, leadership, and service. Only six percent of Boy Scouts achieve the rank of Eagle. In addition to demonstrating proficiency in first aid, citizenship, camping, swimming, emergency preparedness, and many other skills, Eagle candidates must coordinate and complete a community service project that demonstrates significant leadership abilities. Each of the Scouts being honored led a major project to improve quality of life in the community.
Furlong built a storage shed and painted tricycle traffic arrows at his former playschool, University Parents Nursery School in West LA.
Harris-Gavin led a team of scouts in painting a classroom, planting flowerbeds, and refurbishing the garden at the Saint Anne School, greatly enhancing the courtyard.
Metz re-landscaped part of the perimeter garden with drought tolerant plants at Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Santa Monica, transforming a neglected, barren area on the property into a sustainable and beautiful space for the church.
Morawiec renovated the storage shed of the Santa Monica High School Tennis Club, cleaning, priming and painting over 2,200 sq. ft.
Steffes installed a drought tolerant landscape and irrigation system at the front of the Assistance League of Santa Monica Thrift Shop.
Warshauer renovated the Santa Monica High School Tuba room and Color Guard Room, renewing a facility in disrepair that students use daily.
The troop’s scouts contributed several hundred hours to these community service projects.
Troop 2 is one of the oldest and largest Boy Scout troops in the Western United States. In its 69-year history, Troop 2 has graduated 338 Eagle Scouts and traveled to scout camps and high adventure destinations throughout the United States. Troop 2 Scouts are known to have saved at least 63 lives.