NESA.org

The Eagle Behind Deering Banjos

NESA Leaders Awarded Silver Buffalo

Four Incredible Eagle Scout Projects

PLUS:

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE FOR EAGLE SCOUTS SUMMER 2015 THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE FOR EAGLE SCOUTS SUMMER 2015

Meet fi ve Eagle Scouts who served in World War II

BADGE OF COURAGE

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On the CoverRead about the World War II experiences of Eagle Scouts Fred Norman (left) and Jim Harrell, and those of three additional veteran Eagle Scouts, on page 10. Cover photo illustration by Sarah Hanson.

ContentsFeatures Serving Their Country By Mark RayIn this special feature, we salute five Eagle Scouts who bravely served their country during World War II, more than 70 years ago.

The Music Man By Mark Ray Even if you’ve never picked a banjo, you’ll appreciate the hard work and dedication of this musician who turned his passion into a career. Learn more about Greg Deering, the Eagle Scout behind Deering Banjo Company.

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Departments News From the Trailhead

Members

Community

Lifestyle

Achievements

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Visit NESA online to submit your Eagle Scout projects, see more Eagle achievements, apply for scholarships and more.

VOL. 41, NO. 2

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Eagles’Call™

Eagles’ Call magazine (ISSN 2373-7026) is published four times a year by the Boy Scouts of America, 1325 W. Walnut Hill Lane, P.O. Box 152079, Irving, TX 75015-2079. Issues are Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter. Copyright © 2015 by the Boy Scouts of America. All rights thereunder reserved; anything appearing in Eagles’ Call magazine may not be reprinted either wholly or in part without written permission. For submission guidelines, go to nesa.org. Postmaster: Send address changes to Eagles’ Call magazine, P.O. Box 152401, Irving, TX 75015-2401. Online address changes: nesa.org/eaglescall_subscriber.html. Send other correspondence to NESA, S322 Boy Scouts of America, 1325 W. Walnut Hill Lane, P.O. Box 152079, Irving, TX 75015-2079 or eaglescoutmag@scouting.org. Printed and bound by Quad/Graphics.

NATIONAL EAGLE SCOUT ASSOCIATIONPRESIDENT

Glenn A. Adams DIRECTOR

Dustin Farris

NESA COMMITTEERick Bragga, Dr. David Briscoe, Howard Bulloch, Nick Dannemiller, Clark W. Fetridge, Marshall Hollis, Dr. Ken King, Dr. Michael Manyak, Lou Paulson, Rich Pfaltzgraff, Todd R. Plotner, Congressman Pete Sessions, Frank Tsuru, Joe Weingarten

Regents consist of more than 600 life members of NESA who are recipients of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.

MAGAZINE DEPARTMENTEDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Michael GoldmanDESIGN DIRECTOR

Eric OttingerPHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR

W. Garth Dowling

MANAGING EDITORPaula MurpheySENIOR EDITORBryan WendellSENIOR WRITERAaron DerrASSOCIATE EDITORSGretchen Sparling Clay SwartzSENIOR DIGITAL EDITORBryan WurstenDIGITAL EDITOR Keith FaberCOPY EDITOR Ray RoseEDITORIAL ASSISTANT Adryn Shackelford

SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS Lois Albertus, Johnny D. Boggs, Keith Courson, Brittany Hale, Ryan Larson, Jeff Laughlin, Mark Ray

ART DIRECTORSElizabeth Hardaway Morgan Kevin HurleyPHOTO EDITOR Edna J. Lemons

PRODUCTION MANAGERLenore BonnoIMAGING ARTIST Marcie Rodriguez

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CIRCULATION MANAGER Judy BramlettCIRCULATION ASSISTANT Judy Pritchard

HONORARY PRESIDENT, BSAPRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

Barack ObamaPRESIDENT, BSA Robert M. Gates

CHIEF SCOUT EXECUTIVEWayne Brock

MAGAZINES ADVISORY COMMITTEE David Talbot, Chairman

FOR SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION AND CUSTOMER SERVICE: (866) 584-6589

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News From the Trailhead SUMMER 2015

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From the DirectorQuick: What’s the first word you think of when you hear the words “Eagle Scout”? For me, it’s “leadership.”

As Eagle Scouts, our most important influence in Scouting is as role models. Role models for Cub Scouts on the road to Boy Scouts, for Boy Scouts on the road to Eagle, for Eagle Scouts on the road to lifelong success. And, perhaps more important, role models for adult leaders of the BSA.

The magic of Scouting happens when youth get together with effective adult leaders in settings that ensure fun gatherings and positive outcomes — settings where character is caught. The word “caught” says a lot about how kids learn life’s lessons. These lessons are more often caught than taught. When Scouting’s founder, Lord Baden-Powell, explained how the new program worked, he would call it a “scheme”; the key to the scheme was proper bait. You’ve probably heard B-P’s quote, “A fisherman does not bait his hook with food he likes. He uses food the fish likes. So with boys.” Scouting’s bait: Outdoor adventures. Useful skills. Belonging to a high-minded fraternity of achievers who share excitement and fun.

As your new NESA director, my mission is to create a lifelong and nationwide community of alumni, a community that works together to strengthen Scouting’s “bait” and to model leadership. Together, we’ll stress volunteer involvement and philanthropic commitment to local Scouting. Our NESA committee is a group of top-notch professionals from across the country. These members are dedicated to building an alumni association that fosters fellowship and encourages the physical, mental and spiritual growth of Scouting.

Our goals will be to connect national, regional and local alumni initiatives. We will achieve this by establishing a lasting relationship with our alumni. We will strive to provide rewarding service opportunities, promote interaction and highlight achievements of our alumni. Providing an opportunity to connect with other alumni is a top priority, as keeping alumni connected is key to our success.

Once an Eagle, always an Eagle.

Dustin FarrisAlumni Relations/NESA Director

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SUMMER 2015 3

Eagles Now Buffaloes, Too

Each year, the Boy Scouts of America presents the Silver Buffalo, its highest honor for adults, to a dozen or so men and women whose contribu-

tions to Scouting and society are unparal-leled. Some have served with distinction on national committees, others have led the creation of new programs and high-adventure bases. Most years, the areas of program, membership, finance and unit service are well represented.

This year, two NESA leaders, Glenn Adams (left) and Rick Bragga, are among the 13 Scouters who received the Silver Buffalo at the BSA’s National Annual Meeting in May. While it might seem that NESA is disproportionately repre-sented, NESA Director Dustin Farris isn’t surprised: “Both Rick Bragga and Glenn Adams have a sound commitment and a passionate dedication to our alumni. Their service to Scouting will impact future generations.”

Adams, who became NESA president in 2008, is best known for envisioning and endowing the Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year program. He also serves as a trustee of the National Boy Scouts of America Foundation and is a former Scoutmaster and council president. He is a Distinguished Eagle Scout and the 2012 recipient of Scouting’s National Alumnus of the Year Award.

Bragga, a NESA vice president, has worked with NESA and the Scouting Alumni Association on efforts to re-engage alumni. He was deeply involved in the creation of the BSA’s alumni program and developed the alumni-program syl-labus that has been used at the Philmont Training Center and National Order of the Arrow conferences. Bragga also chairs the National Scouting Museum Com-mittee and has served as a Wood Badge course director and world jamboree Scoutmaster, among many other roles. A Distinguished Eagle Scout, he was last year’s recipient of the National Alumnus

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of the Year Award. “Rick and I feel a great sense of

responsibility in receiving this award because we join two other world-class Scout volunteers, Dr. David Briscoe and Marshall Hollis, who have received the Buffalo and are actively serving on the NESA committee,” says Adams. “These Buffaloes could have chosen to receive their award and not participate in other Scouting assignments.

“Instead, they followed the advice of one of my lifelong adult Scout volunteer mentors, Don Curry from Fort Worth. Don nominated me for the Silver Beaver and, upon notifying me of that honor, he said, ‘OK, now that we have that behind us, let’s get back to work!’ That is the at-titude of the great Silver Buffalo recipients who have made NESA what it is today — one of the most dynamic parts of the BSA. I am humbled to be in their company.”

Having two NESA leaders in this year’s

NESA officers earn top BSA honors

2015 Silver Buffalo Award Recipients // MEMBERS

class makes an important statement, Brag-ga says. “I hope that being in the same class as Glenn is an acknowledgement of the value and importance of alumni groups and more specifically NESA.”

He’s probably right. In addition to Bragga and Adams, six other Silver Buffalo recipients this year are NESA members: Glenn Ault, Joseph Simon Brown III, Larry Gibson, Jeffery Jonasen, Skip Oppenheimer and the late John Whitehead.

2015 Silver Buffalo Recipients NESA leaders Rick Bragga and Glenn Adams join 11 other Scouting leaders recognized with a 2015 Silver Buffalo award. This prestigious list includes Dr. Glenn T. Ault of San Gabriel Valley Council; Joseph Simon Brown III of Evangeline Area Council; Larry Gibson of Utah National Parks Council; Jeffery Jonasen of Central Florida Council; John Lea IV of Middle Tennessee Council; Dan Maxfield of Sequoia Council; Skip Oppenheimer of Ore-Ida Council; Bob Sirhal of Narragansett Council; Dr. Bruce Trefz of Piedmont Council; John Whitehead of Greater New York Councils and Andrew Young of the Atlanta Area Council. Read more about these leaders at blog.scoutingmagazine.org/silverbuffalo15.

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MEMBERS // Eagle Scouts Volunteer Medical Expertise

Ritter has published 434 peer-reviewed papers. His commitment to service is as strong as his contribution to knowledge.

Here are three more Eagle Scouts who work with Operation Walk–Mooresville:

Dr. Wesley Lackey, knee and hip surgeon: “Scouting was a big part of my growing up and contributed in lots of ways to my leadership, personal initiative, resourcefulness and pushing limits. These things contributed to my enduring 26 years of school.”

A.J. Feeney-Ruiz, interpreter: His high-adventure trip to Florida Sea Base sparked a number of interests. “It was the first time I was able to sail, and from that came my love of being around the ocean. As an adult, I eventually got my certification to be a yacht master and scuba diver.” In

A 19-year-old girl with arthritic hips has an ear-to-ear grin the day after receiving two hip replacements.

A 7-year-old boy arrives with the toe of one cowboy boot pointing behind him and leaves with both feet pointing forward.

For the people of Nicaragua and Guatemala, surgeries are miracles. For the surgeons of Operation Walk–Mooresville, including several Eagle Scouts, miracles are all in a day’s work.

Operation Walk provides free hip replacements, knee replacements, foot surgeries and ankle surgeries for patients in developing countries. Everything — instruments, artificial knees and hips, medicine, walkers and more — is covered.

The organization’s 78-member Moores-ville, Ind., team includes surgeons, operat-ing-room staff, nurses, physical therapists and translators.

In February, the Mooresville team trav-eled to Guatemala where they replaced 26 hips, 72 knees and performed five ankle and 10 foot surgeries. In a week of volunteer work, they helped 76 people in Guatemala walk again.

Eagle Scouts are at the heart of Opera-tion Walk–Mooresville. An impressive 17 percent of the males on the team are Eagle Scouts, a fact that doesn’t surprise Dr. Steve Herbst, who earned Scouting’s highest honor in 1986.

“Operation Walk is a project made for the person who has followed the ideals of Scouting into their adult life,” he says.

Herbst says Scouting taught him to match his leadership style to the people with whom he works.

“I learned how to be flexible with people,” he says. “That flexibility and understanding is beneficial during surgery where stressful situations with medical complexities arise.”

Dr. Merrill Ritter, an Eagle Scout, founded the Mooresville branch of Opera-tion Walk in 2000. His charisma has at-tracted distinguished medical professionals to the team; his résumé doesn’t hurt, either. A towering figure in orthopedic surgery,

Best Feet Forward

High-Flying Numbers

Speakers at Eagle courts of honor like to point out that 5 to 6 percent of all Scouts reach the rank of Eagle Scout.

How does that percentage translate into actual numbers? A recent report about 2014 offers the details.

Last year, 51,820 Scouts — more than 140 per day — achieved Boy Scouting’s highest rank. Along the way, they earned more than a million merit badges, camped more than a million nights and amassed

Last year’s bumper crop of Eagle Scouts

Eagle Scouts deliver life-changing surgeries to Central Americans

Dr. Steve Herbst (above) begins a total ankle replacement — believed to be the first in Guatemala — during the 2015 Operation Walk Guatemala. Herbst also participated in the 2012 Operation Walk Nicaragua, where he’s shown (right) bandaging Julio Sanchez Guerrero following his foot surgery.

Eagle Scout A.J. Feeney-Ruiz (left), who works as an interpreter for Operation Walk, assists in delivering medication to patients. James Brown (right), an Eagle Scout who authored this article, volunteers his time to photograph the efforts of the Operation Walk–Mooresville team.

Two other Eagle Scout surgeons deliver life-changing help to people in need of knee or foot surgery, including Dr. Wesley Lackey (above) and Dr. Merrill Ritter (at right).

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SUMMER 2015 5

How Many Scouts Earned Eagle in 2014? / NESA Legacy Society // MEMBERS

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Ritter has published 434 peer-reviewed papers. His commitment to service is as strong as his contribution to knowledge.

Here are three more Eagle Scouts who work with Operation Walk–Mooresville:

Dr. Wesley Lackey, knee and hip surgeon: “Scouting was a big part of my growing up and contributed in lots of ways to my leadership, personal initiative, resourcefulness and pushing limits. These things contributed to my enduring 26 years of school.”

A.J. Feeney-Ruiz, interpreter: His high-adventure trip to Florida Sea Base sparked a number of interests. “It was the fi rst time I was able to sail, and from that came my love of being around the ocean. As an adult, I eventually got my certifi cation to be a yacht master and scuba diver.” In

High-Flying Numbers

Speakers at Eagle courts of honor like to point out that 5 to 6 percent of all Scouts reach the rank of Eagle Scout.

How does that percentage translate into actual numbers? A recent report about 2014 offers the details.

Last year, 51,820 Scouts — more than 140 per day — achieved Boy Scouting’s highest rank. Along the way, they earned more than a million merit badges, camped more than a million nights and amassed

Last year’s bumper crop of Eagle Scouts

8,127,532 hours of service on their Eagle projects alone. Based on Independent Sec-tor’s estimated value of $23.07 per hour for volunteer time, that’s $187.5 million worth of service those Scouts and their volun-teers contributed to their communities.

So how does 2014 stack up to previous years? It’s close to the 2011 total of 51,473. More Scouts reached Eagle in the inter-vening years (57,976 in 2012 and 56,841 in 2013), probably because many of them wanted to receive the special pocket patch issued during 2012, the 100th anniversary of the Eagle Scout Award. The number also spiked in 2010 — to 57,147 — when the BSA celebrated its centennial. New Eagle Scouts that year received a special patch as well.

JOIN THE NESA LEGACY SOCIETY

NESA LEGACY SOCIETY MEMBERS

By making a contribution to the national NESA endowment, you will help fund Eagle Scout scholarships, NESA committee service grants, career networking opportunities and more. (Note: You must fi rst become a James E. West Fellow in your local council.)

Visit nesa.org/PDF/542-121.pdf to make a contribution. All NESA LEGACY SOCIETY FELLOWS will be recognized with a unique certifi cate, a pin to wear on the James E. West knot and name recognition in the pages of Eagles’ Call magazine.

A key role for NESA at the national level is to support local council NESA committees. To amplify this support, NESA has awarded $1,000 grants to the six councils below.

San Diego-Imperial CouncilCornhusker Council

Pathway to Adventure CouncilThree Harbors Council

Alamo Area CouncilRip Van Winkle Council

Would you like to apply for a grant to help support Eagle Scouts in your council? Your council’s NESA committee must complete the form at nesa.org/committeegrants starting in December 2015. The deadline is Feb. 28, 2016.

NESA COMMITTEEGRANT RECIPIENTS

April, A.J. headed to China where he will study Mandarin when he is not studying Kung Fu at the Shaolin monastery where he will live.

Alex Farris, interpreter: Since high school he has worked as a writer in Ritter’s research foundation, and his infl uence has been formidable. He originally wanted to be a journalist but has been inspired to pursue a medical degree at the Indiana University School of Medicine. “I would have been more hesitant to change careers from journalism to medicine if I hadn’t learned through Scouting that I could make my own path.” – James W. Brown

LEARN MOREVisit operationwalkmooresville.org to learn more about this cause.

On May 14, NESA celebrated its 100th Legacy Society fellow, including these new additions: Paul Nelson Adkins, Gulf Ridge CouncilR. Lee Barrett, Longhorn CouncilRobert E. Cansler, Central North CarolinaJacobb-Josephson Caones, Transatlantic CouncilDr. T.C. Dickerson, Stonewall Jackson CouncilJoel K. Fairbanks, Gulf Coast CouncilDuane Klink, Chickasaw CouncilEdward J. LaFave, Twin Rivers CouncilJay Lee, Los Angeles Area CouncilWilliam A. Moon, Tuscarora CouncilRichard J. Rozon, Seneca Waterways CouncilMark J. Salmen, Northern Star CouncilCol. Robert F. Schlegel Jr., North Florida CouncilRonald T. Stankye, Cascade Pacifi c CouncilJohn W. Vineyard, California Inland Empire CouncilDonald Wilkinson, San Francisco Bay Area Council

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The 2014 Central Region Adams Award Winner

Voices from the Front

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George Orwell once wrote that history is written by the winners. He might have added that it is written about the presidents, gener-

als and decorated heroes — not the unsung individuals who make those powerful people look good.

For his Eagle Scout project, Kyle Miller of Pickerington, Ohio, set out to record the history of military veterans whose biggest rewards were o� en their honor-able discharges. His goal: to preserve their stories and post them online for future generations. “The best way to make a better future is to remember the past — not just the facts and the details, but the personal human experiences,” he says.

AN EARLY INSPIRATION: Kyle fi rst took a serious interest in war stories at age 12 when, at his grandmother’s prompting, he started attending meetings of a local chapter of The Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge. (He later became the chap-ter’s program director.) One member’s emotional story of trying and failing to save a fellow soldier during combat was especially compelling. “It was shortly a� er that that I decided I wanted to start inter-viewing the veterans of that chapter about their experiences, to collect other stories like that one,” he says.

SEEKING STORIES: For his project, the now- 18-year-old Kyle went beyond the members of that group. He and his volunteers inter-viewed 220 veterans who served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and more recent con-fl icts. Kyle worked through local veterans’ groups, retirement communities and media outlets to identify veterans to interview.

SEEKING SCRIBES: At fi rst, Kyle relied on members of his troop to conduct inter-views at the daylong events he scheduled. But he soon heard from other people in the community who wanted to help. “We’d have Scouts that were 12 or 13 years old working with people who were retired

Warm HeartsServing people 7,000 miles from home

In the Western world, the cli� s near Bamiyan, Afghanistan, are best known as the site of two monumental Buddha statues the Taliban destroyed in 2001. But the cli� s are also home to hundreds of desperately poor families living in caves without electricity or sanitation. With no jobs and little money, the cave dwellers struggle to survive.

Thanks to Maryland Scout John Ferry, more than 100 of those residents have a way to stay warm: clothing he collected for his Eagle Scout project. John set out to serve those families a� er his mother, Barbara, heard through a friend of a friend of Army Maj. Kenton Barber’s wife that Barber was collecting warm coats for the less fortunate kids he regularly saw in Kabul. Once John connected with Maj. Barber, the project quickly grew in scope.

Collecting the clothes was relatively easy. John set up collection boxes at fi ve schools, two churches, a retirement home and a store, and by fall 2012 he had 68 large

INSPIRED TO SERVE: Many of the men and women Kyle interviewed had been barely older than he when they served. That realization inspired him to run for state representative last fall. Although he failed to get enough petition signatures to be on the ballot, he plans to run in the near future. “Age isn’t the most important thing in trying to make a di� erence in your com-munity and in your country,” he says.

Miller sits down with WWII veteran Bob Wade, top left, to hear more about how he guarded the atomic bombs that were used to end the war in Japan. The Eagle Scout continues to add veterans’ stories to his website’s archives at interview events like the Honor Flight Event above. If you know a WWII veteran and want to share his or her story, visit VoicesFromTheFront.org.

teachers or adults in their 40s and 50s that wanted to get involved and help with the project,” he says. “It was a really great combination of people that made it a really great experience.”

BUILDING AN ARCHIVE: Early in the project, Kyle created a website, VoicesFromTheFront.org, to house the stories he gathered. “I thought that would give a greater audience to the stories we collected,” he says. “It would be more accessible for more people to hear and read.” (The site also includes training videos he created for his interviewers, as well as an interview guide. These can be viewed by your own troop, if you wish to get involved.)

DEFINING VALOR: The interview subjects who had worked stateside or in support jobs told Kyle that the real heroes were those who fought on the frontlines. The combat veterans said the real heroes were the people who didn’t come home. Kyle’s take? “Every soldier is a hero because every soldier made a di� erence.”

Battle of the Bulge veteran Frank Walsh, above right, shared his stories from World War II with then-12-year-old Kyle Miller, inspiring Miller’s Eagle Scout service project.

COMMUNITY // Eagle Scout Projects Eagle Scout Projects // COMMUNITY

6 EAGLES’ CALL

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OTHER NOTABLE EAGLE PROJECTSJUSTIN BECTON, BUFFALO, N.Y.Veterans of America’s wars deserve their country’s respect. They also need the occasional haircut. For his Eagle project, Justin Becton provided both.

An aspiring barber, Justin offered free haircuts to veterans at the Chopafellaz barbershop one day last October.

About 20 veterans showed up that Tues-day. Most spent their time in the chair sharing stories of their service with Justin and his fellow Scouts.

Debbera Ransom, commander of Johnetta R. Cole AMVETS Post No. 24, recruited many of the veterans who participated. “It was really, really exciting — not just for the Boy Scouts but for the veterans,” she says. “A lot of times, our heroes get lost within the com-munity. He was able to make veterans feel proud to be veterans once again.”

CHRIS VANYE, POULSBO, WASH.For his Eagle Scout project, Chris VanYe thought big, really big — as big as the United States, in fact. On the playground at his school, Crosspoint Academy in Bremerton, Wash., Chris created a multicolored map of the United States that measures a whop-ping 35 by 36 feet. Besides sprucing up the asphalt, the map can be used by teachers in an array of subjects, including geography, social studies and even math.

To create the large-scale map, Chris started with a paper stencil he purchased online. But then the fun began. “All that was left was a huge connect-the-dots … and it was very confusing,” he says.

Fortunately, the volunteers connected them correctly. Now kids can travel from sea to shin-ing sea without leaving their school campus.

Warm HeartsServing people 7,000 miles from home

In the Western world, the cli� s near Bamiyan, Afghanistan, are best known as the site of two monumental Buddha statues the Taliban destroyed in 2001. But the cli� s are also home to hundreds of desperately poor families living in caves without electricity or sanitation. With no jobs and little money, the cave dwellers struggle to survive.

Thanks to Maryland Scout John Ferry, more than 100 of those residents have a way to stay warm: clothing he collected for his Eagle Scout project. John set out to serve those families a� er his mother, Barbara, heard through a friend of a friend of Army Maj. Kenton Barber’s wife that Barber was collecting warm coats for the less fortunate kids he regularly saw in Kabul. Once John connected with Maj. Barber, the project quickly grew in scope.

Collecting the clothes was relatively easy. John set up collection boxes at fi ve schools, two churches, a retirement home and a store, and by fall 2012 he had 68 large

boxes ready to go to Afghanistan.Transportation was more di� cult.

John was turned down by the USO, the American Legion, Operation Give, Operation Troop Aid, the American Red Cross and other groups before he learned about the Denton Program, a USAID initiative that ships humanitarian supplies in excess space on military cargo planes. All he had to do was fi nd an agency in Afghanistan to receive the shipment.

Through Maj. Barber, Keith Blackey, an American Scouter who was then working with a group called PARSA, a private organization working with disadvantaged Afghanis, was contacted. PARSA operates Afghan Scouting, which isn’t a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement like the BSA but is working to become one.

PARSA signed on and trucked the donations to Bamiyan in January 2013. Local Scouts — including two cave dwellers — polled residents to determine their needs and then distributed bags of clothing to each family. “They took over and ran

it,” Blackey says. “It was totally a youth-led program once they understood the mission.”

One recipient of the aid told McClatchy Newspapers, “These Scouts, I’m very happy with them. Other people never came to ask what our lives are like. But they did, and now we have clothes that will keep my children warm.”

For his part, John learned how willing people are to serve their neighbors — even neighbors who live 7,000 miles away. “It’s not a dog-eat-dog world out there,” he says. “You ask people to help, and they’ll help. People are nice; they’re good.”

INSPIRED TO SERVE: Many of the men and women Kyle interviewed had been barely older than he when they served. That realization inspired him to run for state representative last fall. Although he failed to get enough petition signatures to be on the ballot, he plans to run in the near future. “Age isn’t the most important thing in trying to make a di� erence in your com-munity and in your country,” he says.

teachers or adults in their 40s and 50s that wanted to get involved and help with the project,” he says. “It was a really great combination of people that made it a really great experience.”

BUILDING AN ARCHIVE: Early in the project, Kyle created a website, VoicesFromTheFront.org, to house the stories he gathered. “I thought that would give a greater audience to the stories we collected,” he says. “It would be more accessible for more people to hear and read.” (The site also includes training videos he created for his interviewers, as well as an interview guide. These can be viewed by your own troop, if you wish to get involved.)

DEFINING VALOR: The interview subjects who had worked stateside or in support jobs told Kyle that the real heroes were those who fought on the frontlines. The combat veterans said the real heroes were the people who didn’t come home. Kyle’s take? “Every soldier is a hero because every soldier made a di� erence.”

Battle of the Bulge veteran Frank Walsh, above right, shared his stories from World War II with then-12-year-old Kyle Miller, inspiring Miller’s Eagle Scout service project.

Some of PARSA’s Afghan Scout troops (on left) distribute winter clothes to 150 families living in Bamiyan Province caves. Above, Michael Ferry (John’s dad), Thomas Evers Sr., Thomas Evers Jr., John Ferry and Allen Lain, manager from U-Haul, load the clothing onto a U-Haul truck.

Eagle Scout Projects // COMMUNITY

SUMMER 2015 7

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Quiz answers: 1) Probably not, unless you paid extra. 2) Spend three to fi ve days acclimatizing before going above 8,000 feet and an extra day for every 3,300 feet of higher elevation. 3) Floors 2 to 6, where you’ll be pro-tected against fi rst-fl oor break-ins but close enough to the ground to escape a fi re. 4) Clean the hole and plug it with sugar-free gum or dental wax.

 Here are some questions to ponder before your next overseas trip:

1 Will my tour group pay to evacuate me if I get injured?2 How can I prevent acute mountain sickness?3 Which are the safest fl oors in a hotel?4 What can I do if I lose a fi lling while traveling in the backcountry?

Find the answers at the end of this article. Or fi nd them — and hundreds of others — in Lizard Bites & Street Riots: Travel Emergencies and Your Health, Safety & Security (WindRush Publishers, 2015), a book co-authored by NESA Vice President Michael J. Manyak.

An expert in expedition medicine, Manyak wrote the book with Joyce M. Johnson, the former surgeon general of the U.S. Coast Guard, and Warren J. Young, director of security services and business continuity for the International Monetary Fund. Manyak’s goal: Give all travelers vital health and security information before they leave home. “Although there are resources

Scare TacticsEagle Scout Author Prepares Adventure Travelers for the Worst

for each topic, very few today address both together,” he says.

Manyak has served as a doctor on expedi-tions to the Antarctic, Tanzania, Mongolia and other locations, and he has seen his share of cases where medical and security issues overlapped. On a trip to Peru, an expe-dition member took a bad step and fell 600 feet, landing in a patch of cactus. The man’s problems got worse when Manyak called

his insurance company to request an evacuation. “They said, ‘If you can get him to a medical facility, we’ll come and get him,’ ” Manyak says. It turned out the man had purchased the wrong insurance and didn’t have evacuation cover-age. (Manyak arranged help through another company, and the man survived without too much damage to his body or bank account.)

Lizard Bites covers 92 topics, everything from abdominal pain and airline safety to violent crime and women’s health issues. Each topic includes a realistic scenario, key points and detailed guidelines. Manyak says the book’s website, lizardbites.com, will provide readers with even more resources.

While the obvious audience for Lizard Bites is the 50 million people who travel to

Food drives like Scouting for Food have long been among the BSA’s most popular service projects. Few Scouts,

however, give much thought to how all the cans of green beans and vegetable soup they collect actually get to people in need.

That’s where Spencer Co� man comes in. As client services manager at the Emergency Food Pantry in Fargo, N.D., the 2007 Eagle Scout is responsible for distributing nearly a million pounds of food to some 47,500 people in need each year. He began volunteering at the pantry a couple of years ago. When the previous manager retired in May 2014, he was strongly encouraged to apply for the job. “They basically said, ‘Bring in your application or don’t come back,’ ” he says half-jokingly.

In his job, Co� man coordinates the work of more than 1,500 volunteers a year, including regular volunteers, church groups and schoolchildren. He strives to keep everyone happy, which means keeping them busy.

Co� man’s volunteers unpack cases, sort donations, rotate the pantry’s supplies and stock the line where donations are distrib-uted. Under the pantry’s choice model, they also serve as personal shoppers for clients, who get to choose from a menu of avail-able items — canned goods, produce, dairy products and more. “It’s just like shopping at a grocery store, but for free,” Co� man says. “And it’s done for them.”

Co� man, who has bachelor’s degrees in psychology and philosophy from Minnesota State University, enjoys talking with clients and hearing their stories. He’s quick to point out, however, that his job is to share food, not advice.

That said, he knows that he’s doing more than just feeding people. “If you’re hungry, you’re not going to be focused on getting a job,” he says. “If we can satisfy their hunger, we may be a crucial step in getting them a job.”

Beyond Scouting for FoodFilling Stomachs, Hearts at North Dakota Pantry

LIFESTYLE // Lizard Bites & Street Riots / North Dakota Pantry

8 EAGLES’ CALL

the developing world each year (a quarter of whom report medical problems), Manyak says problems can crop up in fi rst-world countries, too.

The book’s title was partially inspired by a call Manyak received from a nurse at the National Geographic Society. One of their photographers was working in Indonesia, and a Komodo dragon had spit in his eye; they wanted to make sure their treatment — fl ush-ing the eye with sterile water and watching for signs of infection — was correct. It was. “You cannot make up these stories,” Manyak says.

Lizard Bites & Street Riots is available through Scout shops and on ScoutStu� .org.

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Are you looking for a gift for a new Eagle Scout that will be special and memorable?

You’ll find gifts that are perfect for:- Council Eagle Scout recognition events- Eagle Scout courts of honor- Birthdays and holidays- Order of the Arrow 100th anniversary

NESASTORE.ORG IS…

NESA at NOAC Patch and Flap SetThis special elegant pocket patch and flap, embroidered on black felt, will honor the OA on its 100th anniversary. This set is 5 inches wide and 6½ inches tall. The metallic Eagle clearly stands out on this patch.$12 each.

Go to nesastore.org for more great gift ideas!

NESA at NOAC CSP and Flap SetThe CSP and flap set will stand out in any collection. It is embroidered on smooth black felt, which makes other colors jump out. The CSP is 5 inches wide by 3 inches tall. The corresponding flap is also 5 inches wide and 2½ inches tall. $10 each.

Allowat StatueRecognize an Eagle Scout Arrowman with a special Allowat Sakima statue, which is 9 inches tall and sits on a solid wood base. The Allowat figure is resin and finished to resemble antique bronze. Each figure comes with a gold nameplate for personalization. $50 each.Order at www.sgtradingpost.com.

Trustworthy

Loyal

HelpfulFriendly

Courteous

Kind

Obedient

Cheerful

Thrifty

Brave

Clean

Reverent

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Serving Their

JIM HARRELL AND FRED NORMAN/ELKIN, N.C.

Some 16 million Americans served in the armed forces during World War II. Among them were countless Eagle Scouts who waded ashore on D-Day, endured the Bataan Death March and island-hopped across the Pacific. Others worked behind the lines, organizing armies, delivering supplies, and providing essential medical and moral support to the men in combat.

Some Eagle Scouts achieved fame — men like Brig. Gen. Robert Lee Scott Jr. of the Flying Tigers and Medal of Honor recipient Col. Mitchell Paige. But most didn’t. Instead, they returned to workaday lives or long months of recuperation or (for many African Americans) the racial prejudice they thought they’d escaped.

Seventy years after VJ Day formally ended hostilities, more than 850,000 World War II veterans are still with us — but we are rapidly losing them. Nearly 500 die each day, according to the National WWII Museum, taking with them stories of the triumph and tragedy that marked the war.

To honor the contribution of those Eagle Scouts who traded their Scout uniforms for fatigues, dress whites or flight suits, Eagles’ Call talked with a few men from the Greatest Generation.

Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Elkin, N.C., is the sort of

town Andy Griffith memorialized in his iconic 1960s TV series. Among its 4,000 citi-zens live two nonagenarians who epitomize the service of Eagle Scouts during WWII.

Fred Norman and Dr. Jim Harrell were actually born in the same room about a year apart — Harrell’s family briefly rented a house from Norman’s family — and they’ve remained close ever since. They went through Scouting together, played on the same high school football team, shared family vacations and served their home-town throughout seven decades.

In fact, their service during WWII prob-ably constitutes the longest period they were away from each other and from their hometown. That service also illustrates the range of jobs it takes to win a war: Norman served in Europe as a gunner on a tank, and Harrell worked stateside as a dentist.

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Serving TheirFive EAGLE SCOUTS Who Served During World War II

By Mark Ray / Photo Illustration by Sarah Hanson

JIM HARRELL AND FRED NORMAN/ELKIN, N.C.

Country

SUMMER 2015

Some 16 million Americans served in the armed forces during World War II. Among them were countless Eagle Scouts who waded ashore on D-Day, endured the Bataan Death March and island-hopped across the Pacifi c. Others worked behind the lines, organizing armies, delivering supplies, and providing essential medical and moral support to the men in combat.

Some Eagle Scouts achieved fame — men like Brig. Gen. Robert Lee Scott Jr. of the Flying Tigers and Medal of Honor recipient Col. Mitchell Paige. But most didn’t. Instead, they returned to workaday lives or long months of recuperation or (for many African Americans) the racial prejudice they thought they’d escaped.

Seventy years a� er VJ Day formally ended hostilities, more than 850,000 World War II veterans are still with us — but we are rapidly losing them. Nearly 500 die each day, according to the National WWII Museum, taking with them stories of the triumph and tragedy that marked the war.

To honor the contribution of those Eagle Scouts who traded their Scout uniforms for fatigues, dress whites or fl ight suits, Eagles’ Call talked with a few men from the Greatest Generation.

Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Elkin, N.C., is the sort of

town Andy Gri� th memorialized in his iconic 1960s TV series. Among its 4,000 citi-zens live two nonagenarians who epitomize the service of Eagle Scouts during WWII.

Fred Norman and Dr. Jim Harrell were actually born in the same room about a year apart — Harrell’s family briefl y rented a house from Norman’s family — and they’ve remained close ever since. They went through Scouting together, played on the same high school football team, shared family vacations and served their home-town throughout seven decades.

In fact, their service during WWII prob-ably constitutes the longest period they were away from each other and from their hometown. That service also illustrates the range of jobs it takes to win a war: Norman served in Europe as a gunner on a tank, and Harrell worked stateside as a dentist.

FROM THE PACIFIC TO THE ‘FATHERLAND’Norman enlisted in the U.S. Army right out of high school and ended up at Camp Cooke, Calif., in February 1943. Every other week his unit rotated to the Pacifi c coast, about fi ve miles away, to sleep in tents and guard against a potential Japanese invasion. It was there he fi rst realized how handy his Scouting back-

ground would be. “Some of those guys didn’t even know how to pitch a tent,”

he says. “They had a tent-pitching contest, and I won that.”

In February 1944, Norman went overseas with the 6th Armored Division of Gen. George Patton’s Third Army. The Super Sixth

Fred Norman, who served as a gunner on a tank during World War II, holds a round named “Elkin Special” after his North Carolina hometown.

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12 EAGLES’ CALL

OTHER EAGLE SCOUTS IN WORLD WAR II

GEORGE MAHERREDWOOD CITY, CALIF.George Maher served as a fire controlman on the USS Prichett, a destroyer in the Pacific, from the fall of 1944 through the end of the war. During his service, he saw action in the Philippines, Saipan, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and the South China Sea. “The ship itself earned eight battle stars for the various affairs it was in,” he says. “I myself got five stars on my Pacific Service Medal.”

He probably got a few gray hairs the day a Japanese plane dropped a

torpedo just as the Prichett blew it out of the sky. He and the captain said quiet goodbyes to each other as the torpedo streaked toward the ship. “The two of us stood and watched as the torpedo came right at us — and we saw it go under the ship, and

we thanked God,” he says. “That was one experience that I have never for-

gotten and probably never will.”As a Scout, Maher learned both

Morse and semaphore code, knowledge

George Maher, lower left, shares a moment with fellow shipmates serving aboard the USS Prichett. Maher was officially made an Eagle Scout (below) in 2012. His 1944 board of review was delayed by his father’s death and Maher’s deployment.

came ashore a month after D-Day and fought its way across France and Germany. “We fought from July until May 8 and were never relieved — didn’t sleep in a building that whole time,” he says. “You started digging those foxholes through 6 inches of snow. You had to get the snow off, and then the ground was frozen about 4 inches, and you had to get that out and then dig a hole you could sleep in.”

Norman also spent time as a forward observer. Once, an American P-47 fighter crashed nearby, just after its pilot bailed out. To rescue the pilot, Norman began running toward his position, stopping only when he realized the pilot had a gun pointed at him. “Anytime that gun went one way, I went the other,” he says. “I kept hollering, ‘American, American!’ ”

Norman finally reached the pilot, avoided getting shot and administered first aid to the man until medics arrived.

On the final day of the war in Europe, Norman fired the last of 6,000 rounds from his tank’s 105 mm gun. He was about 7 miles from Berlin and 800 miles from where his European tour began. “They told us we were going to fire two more rounds on a

bridge, and that would be all we would fire,” he says. “I’ve got that last shell I fired out of the 6,000. I’m looking at it right now.”

That July, Norman stood at attention beside his tank as motorcades carried Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Harry Truman to the Potsdam Conference.

For his service, Norman received two Bronze Stars and lost the hearing in his left ear. (“I’ve got a solid roar as I speak to you that never goes away,” he says.) He left the Army on Nov. 4, 1945, and returned home to Elkin.

SERVICE ON THE HOME FRONTAbout the time Norman was heading west to Europe, his friend Jim Harrell was heading south to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island, S.C., as a newly minted dentist in the U.S. Navy Dental Corps.

Harrell earned a doctorate in dentistry from the Medical College of Virginia in 1944 and promptly joined the Dental Corps, serving until 1946. He returned to Elkin to start his own dental practice — where he still works four days a week — then returned to the Dental Corps during the Korean War, this time serving at Olathe

Naval Air Station in Kansas.Asked about his service during either

war, he quickly points out that the glory belongs to men like Norman. “I don’t have any real story other than I just served my country,” he says. It might be more accurate, however, to say that his real story began after he hung up his uniform for the last time.

From the 1950s into the 1970s, Harrell served three terms as Elkin city commis-sioner and three terms as mayor. As mayor, he led the development of a new water plant, sewer plant, fire station, airport, regional library, hospital and two bridges. “I just happened to come in after the war when the city really needed stuff,” he says.

He’s been there when other groups needed “stuff” as well. He has raised mil-lions of dollars for the University of North Carolina, the Medical College of Virginia School of Dentistry and the University of Alabama School of Dentistry. During the recent financial downturn, he raised $5 million for a new wing at Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital. When donors he’d lined up for a new helicopter pad fell through, he gave the money himself. He named it in honor of Fred Norman.

that came in handy one day when the Prichett’s signalman was below deck. Maher noticed a nearby ship flashing the Prichett’s designation, DD-561, and alerted the officer of the deck. He then began decoding the other ship’s message while someone called the signalman. After the signalman arrived, he watched for a few minutes and then said, “Why’d you call me? You’re doing all right.” Eventually, the signalman took over but asked Maher if he wanted to pass the message along to the next ship. “I might have been able to do it, but when you have the experts there, you might as well let the experts do it,” he says.

Although Maher completed his Eagle Scout requirements before joining the Navy, he never had a board of review. It was not until 2012 that Mark Manchester of the Pacific Skyline Council learned Maher had never received his Eagle badge and made arrangements for him to offi-cially be named an Eagle Scout.

JOE ROSENERNEWPORT BEACH, CALIF.Joe Rosener became an Eagle Scout in 1937, the same year he attended the first national Scout jamboree in Washington, D.C. Scouting, he says, “helped convert me from being very introverted to becoming a real part of the organization.”

Eagle Scout Joe Rosener (above) flew B-24s like the one at right, in addition to B-25s, during his service in the 820th Bomb Squadron based in Hawaii.

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SUMMER 2015 13

OTHER EAGLE SCOUTS IN WORLD WAR II

GEORGE MAHERREDWOOD CITY, CALIF.George Maher served as a fi re controlman on the USS Prichett, a destroyer in the Pacifi c, from the fall of 1944 through the end of the war. During his service, he saw action in the Philippines, Saipan, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and the South China Sea. “The ship itself earned eight battle stars for the various a� airs it was in,” he says. “I myself got fi ve stars on my Pacifi c Service Medal.”

He probably got a few gray hairs the day a Japanese plane dropped a

torpedo just as the Prichett blew it out of the sky. He and the captain said quiet goodbyes to each other as the torpedo streaked toward the ship. “The two of us stood and watched as the torpedo came right at us — and we saw it go under the ship, and

we thanked God,” he says. “That was one experience that I have never for-

gotten and probably never will.”As a Scout, Maher learned both

Morse and semaphore code, knowledge

Naval Air Station in Kansas.Asked about his service during either

war, he quickly points out that the glory belongs to men like Norman. “I don’t have any real story other than I just served my country,” he says. It might be more accurate, however, to say that his real story began a� er he hung up his uniform for the last time.

From the 1950s into the 1970s, Harrell served three terms as Elkin city commis-sioner and three terms as mayor. As mayor, he led the development of a new water plant, sewer plant, fi re station, airport, regional library, hospital and two bridges. “I just happened to come in a� er the war when the city really needed stu� ,” he says.

He’s been there when other groups needed “stu� ” as well. He has raised mil-lions of dollars for the University of North Carolina, the Medical College of Virginia School of Dentistry and the University of Alabama School of Dentistry. During the recent fi nancial downturn, he raised $5 million for a new wing at Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital. When donors he’d lined up for a new helicopter pad fell through, he gave the money himself. He named it in honor of Fred Norman.

A member of the “Triple Nickles,” retired Sgt. Maj. William Webb still wears a pendant (right) to symbolize his service in the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion during World War II.

At the end of the war, the Triple Nickles were transferred to Fort Bragg, N.C., where Webb faced the realities of Jim Crow laws. “German prisoners of war could go through the front door of a restaurant where Afro-Americans still had to go in the back door. And we didn’t know if they’d spit in our food or what. That was another war within a war,” he says.

Despite this maltreatment, Webb re-enlisted not long a� er the war ended. He served in the 2nd Ranger Company in Korea and in the Green Berets in Vietnam before retiring in 1974 as a sergeant major.

Last year, New York State Sen. Timothy M. Kennedy presented Webb with the Liberty Medal. In a speech on the Senate fl oor, Kennedy said, “Sgt. Maj. William Webb is justly deserving of praise for the bravery, heroism and true grit he displayed in service to our nation.”

As a junior at Cal Tech, Rosener faced a decision: “Did I want to be an infantryman and sleep on the ground in the mud, or did I want to live like an exotic human being and join the Air Force?” he says. “As a result of that decision, I joined the Air Force and went through the whole fl ying system to become a pilot.”

Rosener trained on B-24s in Riverside, Calif., but transferred to the 820th Bomb Squadron, which fl ew B-25s, once he arrived in Hawaii. Eventually, he fl ew both: bombing missions in B-25s and resupply trips in B-24s. “I had the pleasure when I’d come back from a combat mission of fl ying this cargo B-24 to the Philippines from Okinawa, then return to Okinawa to fl y more mis-sions,” he says.

All told, the fi rst lieutenant fl ew 13 missions, not includ-ing all those supply runs to the Philippines. He was in the air heading toward the Japanese island of Kyushu when the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.

WILLIAM WEBBBUFFALO, N.Y.Eagle Scout William Webb joined the war in Europe in January 1944. As an African American, however, he wasn’t allowed to fi ght. Instead, he drove a cargo truck as part of the Red Ball Express, the convoy system that kept the Army supplied as it raced across France and Germany.

Before long, Webb jumped at the chance to see action. He volunteered for the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, better known as the Triple Nickles. Made up of African American men, the battalion parachuted into forest fi res in the Pacifi c Northwest. The military connection? Government leaders were worried Japanese balloon bombs would spark massive fi res.

When asked if it takes bravery to para-chute into a fi re, Webb doesn’t

hesitate. “You have to be brave to jump out of

a plane, period,” he says. “I’ve seen several fellows when they jumped and their

chutes didn’t open; that’s something you’ll

never forget.”

that came in handy one day when the Prichett’s signalman was below deck. Maher noticed a nearby ship fl ashing the Prichett’s designation, DD-561, and alerted the o� cer of the deck. He then began decoding the other ship’s message while someone called the signalman. A� er the signalman arrived, he watched for a few minutes and then said, “Why’d you call me? You’re doing all right.” Eventually, the signalman took over but asked Maher if he wanted to pass the message along to the next ship. “I might have been able to do it, but when you have the experts there, you might as well let the experts do it,” he says.

Although Maher completed his Eagle Scout requirements before joining the Navy, he never had a board of review. It was not until 2012 that Mark Manchester of the Pacifi c Skyline Council learned Maher had never received his Eagle badge and made arrangements for him to o� -cially be named an Eagle Scout.

JOE ROSENERNEWPORT BEACH, CALIF.Joe Rosener became an Eagle Scout in 1937, the same year he attended the fi rst national Scout jamboree in Washington, D.C. Scouting, he says, “helped convert me from being very introverted to becoming a real part of the organization.”

Eagle Scout Joe Rosener (above) fl ew B-24s like the one at right, in additionto B-25s, during his service in the 820th Bomb Squadron based in Hawaii.

WorldWarII.indd 13 5/27/15 1:33 PM

14 EAGLES’ CALL

THE

F olk musician Pete Seeger knew fi rsthand the power of the banjo. On the head of his fi ve-string instrument, he inscribed these famous words:

“This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender.”

What Seeger didn’t realize is that the banjo can also kill zombies — at least in the world of the 2009 fi lm Zombieland.

Greg Deering wasn’t aware of the banjo’s power against the undead until a couple of years ago — even though his business, the Deering Banjo Company, is North America’s largest banjo manufacturer and has turned out more than 100,000 banjos since 1975.

Fortunately, the Distinguished Eagle Scout is the Scoutmaster of Troop 355 in Spring Valley, Calif. At an annual New Year’s Eve breakfast for his patrol leaders’ council, Deering’s Scouts were happy to educate him. One took out his smartphone and showed him a clip of Woody Harrelson using a banjo to attract — and then kill — zombies in a grocery store.

“All of a sudden, it dawned on me that we should do a Zombie Killer banjo,” Deering says. “Right there at the breakfast, I’m drawing pictures of the Zombie Killer banjo on my napkin. By the National Association of Music Merchants show three weeks later, I had a prototype. It went over really well, and we’ve sold hundreds of them already.”

A START IN SCOUTINGThe Zombie Killer, which was introduced in January 2013 and retails for $1,013, is just the latest example of how Scouting has infl uenced Deering’s career. He credits the program with launching his interest in the banjo.

A� er joining San Diego Troop 170 in the early 1960s, Deering became close friends with Chris Bailey, a Scout he knew from junior-high band. One day, Bailey played him a Kingston Trio album and picked up a guitar and started playing along with the music.

MR. SCOUTMASTERGreg Deering has served as Scoutmaster of Troop

355 since 1987. Following the example of his own Scoutmaster, Bob Lawrence, he encourages Scouts to run their own program. “The boys do a good job,” he says, “and most of the time the adults have a lot of really wonderful fellowship all on our own.”

Deering has also been active on the San Diego-Imperial Council’s executive board, high-adventure team and Eagle Scout alumni association. He served as jamboree Scoutmaster in 1993 and 1997 and as the council’s jamboree contingent liaison in 2001. For the 2010 National Jamboree, he coordinated trans-portation for the council’s fi ve-troop contingent, even driving an equipment truck cross-country.

Deering’s wife, Janet, is a Scouter in her own right. The couple has served together on the council’s Strategic Planning Committee and hiked together at Philmont Scout Ranch. (Janet took along a banjo, which they played in camp each night.) Their son, Jeremiah, isan Eagle Scout; their daughter, Jamie, is vice presi-dent of public service and outreach at Deering Banjo.

For his Scouting service, Greg Deering has received numerous honors, including the Silver Beaver, the Bronze Pelican and the Scoutmaster Award of Merit. In 2011, he was named a Distinguished Eagle Scout.

GregDeeringBanjos.indd 14 5/19/15 8:55 AM

SUMMER 2015 15

THE

Introducing the Eagle Scout behind America’s largest banjo company

By Mark Ray / Photographs by W. Garth Dowling

MUSIC MAN

BUILDING A COMPANYDeering moved from picking to produc-tion while studying industrial arts at San Diego State University. He wanted a nicer banjo than he could a� ord, so he built his own. Then he built another and another, and before he knew it, he was in the banjo business. “I’m still working on making that banjo that everybody can a� ord,” he says.

In the early 1970s, Deering worked at the American Dream in Lemon Grove, Calif., a shop that spawned at least three other instrument companies. In 1975 — 40 years ago this summer — Deering and his wife, Janet, founded their own company. He was 25, she was 21, and they had a con-tract to build instruments for Stelling Banjo. That deal fell apart, so the couple moved their equipment into their home garage and began building banjos under their own name. “By the summer of 1978, we were dis-playing our banjos at the big national trade

F olk musician Pete Seeger knew fi rsthand the power of the banjo. On the head of his fi ve-string instrument, he inscribed these famous words:

“This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender.”

What Seeger didn’t realize is that the banjo can also kill zombies — at least in the world of the 2009 fi lm Zombieland.

Greg Deering wasn’t aware of the banjo’s power against the undead until a couple of years ago — even though his business, the Deering Banjo Company, is North America’s largest banjo manufacturer and has turned out more than 100,000 banjos since 1975.

Fortunately, the Distinguished Eagle Scout is the Scoutmaster of Troop 355 in Spring Valley, Calif. At an annual New Year’s Eve breakfast for his patrol leaders’ council, Deering’s Scouts were happy to educate him. One took out his smartphone and showed him a clip of Woody Harrelson using a banjo to attract — and then kill — zombies in a grocery store.

“All of a sudden, it dawned on me that we should do a Zombie Killer banjo,” Deering says. “Right there at the breakfast, I’m drawing pictures of the Zombie Killer banjo on my napkin. By the National Association of Music Merchants show three weeks later, I had a prototype. It went over really well, and we’ve sold hundreds of them already.”

A START IN SCOUTINGThe Zombie Killer, which was introduced in January 2013 and retails for $1,013, is just the latest example of how Scouting has infl uenced Deering’s career. He credits the program with launching his interest in the banjo.

A� er joining San Diego Troop 170 in the early 1960s, Deering became close friends with Chris Bailey, a Scout he knew from junior-high band. One day, Bailey played him a Kingston Trio album and picked up a guitar and started playing along with the music.

The skilled hands of Jack Causey, a Deering Banjo Company craftsman, above, place the notches on a Goodtime Zombie Killer banjo (left), designed by Eagle Scout Greg Deering. The creative musician operates the Deering Banjo Company with his wife, Janet (below).

“I thought I’d died and gone to heaven,” Deering says. He looked at his friend, looked at the photo on the album cover and decided he had to get a banjo, the other instrument the Kingston Trio fea-tured. “At 13 years old, I spent a whole month’s worth of paper-route money and bought a banjo,” he says. “There’s a good likelihood that I would have never become a banjo person without having been in the Boy Scout troop with Chris.”

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Artists ranging from country, bluegrass, rock and pop appreciate the quality, style and crafts-manship of Deering banjos.

The Eagle Scout musician never imagined that his designs would be played by artists including (clockwise from left) Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, Steve Martin, Bela Fleck, Kacey Musgraves, Rod Stewart and John Hartford.

MUSICIANS

16 EAGLES’ CALL

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The banjo-making process involves many skilled craftsmen, including (clockwise from left) Lido Armando, who bonds together the “pot” of the banjo. Chuck Neitzel carves small holes in the banjo neck, as Jon Ford fits the tone ring to the instrument. Andrew Unden finishes and tunes a banjo in the assembling room. Bending the maple of the “pot” takes Gary Clapp’s full attention. Glen Mayes uses a lathe to give shape to the banjo rim.

MORE LESSONS FROM SCOUTINGDeering relishes the challenge of compet-ing with overseas manufacturers, which perhaps stems from another experience he had in Scouting. When he first became a patrol leader, his patrol wanted to win a camporee, which meant beating other patrols in fire building, log hauling and more. After practicing, Deering and his fellow Scouts realized they needed to work smarter, not harder. For each com-petition, Scouts took on specific roles and worked in harmony.

“We won every single event, and we won the camporee,” Deering recalls. “It was not that we were special or better than anybody else; we were just fortunate enough to have hit upon a formula on how to really excel. It was an amazing learning experience, and I’ve carried that through with everything we’ve ever done.”

But Scouting taught Deering much more than just how to beat other patrols — or overseas banjo manufacturers. He credits the program with teaching him values and leadership skills and with prompting him to strive for excellence in everything he does. “Scouting is just an incredible foundation for all of life, not just business,” he says. “I can’t imagine what life would be if I hadn’t had the foundation of Scouting and the influence of Baden-Powell.”

show in Chicago,” Deering says.The first year, the Deerings (who added

an employee late in the year) produced about 280 instruments. Janet delivered many of them to retailers throughout California, mostly so they could get paid quicker and avoid bouncing any checks. “It took a lot of determination for us to make it through those beginning years,” Deering says. “It wasn’t always certain that we’d have enough money to put food on the table every week.”

Deering economized by making some of his own machinery, using skills he had learned from his dad, an aircraft engineer. He built a pin router to carve holes for mother-of-pearl inlays. “That whole machine was made out of scrounged parts,” he says. “When I needed some way to control the up-and-down movement of the router, I came across an air-brake pedal from a bus. It turned out to be the perfect thing.” Now more than 30 years old, that pin router is still in use at the Deering factory.

DEERING BANJOS TODAYIn 2001, the company opened an 18,000-square-foot factory, where its 100,000th banjo was produced in January

City. Other prominent customers have included Steve Martin, Bela Fleck, Taylor Swift, the Elton John Band, Winston Marshall of Mumford and Sons, Taj Mahal, Rod Stewart, Keith Urban, Jens Kruger, Andy Rau, Eddie Adcock and the late John Hartford.

But the company’s banjos are also popular with students and amateur musicians. In fact, Deering introduced the Goodtime line in 1996 to offer an American-made alternative to cheap imports. “[Chinese manufacturers] have banjos that are less expensive than ours, but they’re not very good banjos,” Deering says. “When you get a Chinese banjo that plays as well and sounds as good as our banjo, you’re probably going to be spend-ing more.”

2014. The company keeps its 48 employees busy, but it’s no sweatshop. Eagle Scout Mike Lo Vecchio, a former Deering employee who now works on the BSA’s Content Management Team, says, “You didn’t go to work; you went to fun. Everybody is friendly, cooperative, helpful. It’s amazing. It’s a good place to work.”

Deering says that’s partly because his employees understand the company is really selling magic, not musical instru-ments. “Everybody here knows that we’re doing more than just sanding a piece of wood and making it look pretty,” he says. “We’re making something that gets to be part of the magic of the music. That’s dif-ferent than just having a job.”

The company’s more than 130 models range from the $499 Goodtime banjo to the $63,719 Deering Banjosaurus Long Neck, which features a dinosaur-age mural on the fingerboard made of mother-of-pearl, coral, turquoise, cactus, abalone, malachite, several kinds of soapstones, koa, tagua nut and rosewood.

The Banjosaurus was designed, appro-priately enough, for George Grove of the Kingston Trio and can be seen today at the American Banjo Museum in Oklahoma

GregDeeringBanjos.indd 16 5/18/15 10:57 AM

Artists ranging from country, bluegrass, rock and pop appreciate the quality, style and crafts-manship of Deering banjos.

The Eagle Scout musician never imagined that his designs would be played by artists including (clockwise from left) Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, Steve Martin, Bela Fleck, Kacey Musgraves, Rod Stewart and John Hartford.

MUSICIANS

WHAT THE ARTISTS SAY

SUMMER 2015 17

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The banjo-making process involves many skilled craftsmen, including (clockwise from left) Lido Armando, who bonds together the “pot” of the banjo. Chuck Neitzel carves small holes in the banjo neck, as Jon Ford fits the tone ring to the instrument. Andrew Unden finishes and tunes a banjo in the assembling room. Bending the maple of the “pot” takes Gary Clapp’s full attention. Glen Mayes uses a lathe to give shape to the banjo rim.

MORE LESSONS FROM SCOUTINGDeering relishes the challenge of compet-ing with overseas manufacturers, which perhaps stems from another experience he had in Scouting. When he first became a patrol leader, his patrol wanted to win a camporee, which meant beating other patrols in fire building, log hauling and more. After practicing, Deering and his fellow Scouts realized they needed to work smarter, not harder. For each com-petition, Scouts took on specific roles and worked in harmony.

“We won every single event, and we won the camporee,” Deering recalls. “It was not that we were special or better than anybody else; we were just fortunate enough to have hit upon a formula on how to really excel. It was an amazing learning experience, and I’ve carried that through with everything we’ve ever done.”

But Scouting taught Deering much more than just how to beat other patrols — or overseas banjo manufacturers. He credits the program with teaching him values and leadership skills and with prompting him to strive for excellence in everything he does. “Scouting is just an incredible foundation for all of life, not just business,” he says. “I can’t imagine what life would be if I hadn’t had the foundation of Scouting and the influence of Baden-Powell.”

City. Other prominent customers have included Steve Martin, Bela Fleck, Taylor Swift, the Elton John Band, Winston Marshall of Mumford and Sons, Taj Mahal, Rod Stewart, Keith Urban, Jens Kruger, Andy Rau, Eddie Adcock and the late John Hartford.

But the company’s banjos are also popular with students and amateur musicians. In fact, Deering introduced the Goodtime line in 1996 to offer an American-made alternative to cheap imports. “[Chinese manufacturers] have banjos that are less expensive than ours, but they’re not very good banjos,” Deering says. “When you get a Chinese banjo that plays as well and sounds as good as our banjo, you’re probably going to be spend-ing more.”

“I love my Deering banjos, and I’m proud to be able to rely on the company for its products and service because not only does Deering make what I feel are today’s very best banjos, but also because Greg and Janet Deering are the highest-quality human beings I could wish to be associated with.”

EDDIE ADCOCK, member of International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame

“I’ve known Greg ever since the early ’80s when I bought my G.D.L. [Greg Deering Limited], only the fifth one made. He has always treated me like family. I admire him not only as a person but as the finest banjo maker on the planet. He and the entire team really care about making the banjo world accessible to every person.”

ANDY RAU, progressive bluegrass/Americana musician

“I have open-back banjos, resonator banjos, ones with no tone ring and ones with big, heavy tone rings. I have an Irish tenor and a Seeger long neck thrown in the mix, too. They all come out of the Deering factory because I know that I’m getting consistent and excellent American craftsmanship. In 25 years I’ve never had a single quality issue.”

RIK BARRON, folk musician

GregDeeringBanjos.indd 17 5/19/15 8:00 AM

York Business that Whitehead “knew what Scouting had done for him, and he repaid more than fully so that other boys could share in the camping and character-building activi-ties that Scouting provides.”

His obituary in The New York Times mentions that Whitehead spent a third of his working hours at Goldman Sachs doing volunteer work for groups including the BSA, the International Rescue Committee and his alma mater, Haverford College. It also says this about his early years: “The young Mr. Whitehead raised racing pigeons, sang in the church choir, rose to Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts and learned to play the violin.”

Guess which activity launched his cel-ebrated career.

ACHIEVEMENTS // Eagle Scout Inventor / Remembering a Distinguished Eagle

For God and CountryMany young men exchange their Scout uniforms for fatigues, dress blues or battle dress uniforms. NESA salutes the Eagle Scouts shown below who are serving our nation in all branches of the armed forces. Recognize another Eagle by completing the form found at nesa.org/eaglegodandcountry.

Lt. Col. Laird AbbottU.S. Air ForceIn June 2014, Lt. Col. Abbott assumed command of Defense Contract Management Agency Boeing Long Beach, where he is responsible for contract administration services for the C-17 Globemaster III program. He will be the final commander, as the Boeing Long Beach Plant will close after C-17 production ends in 2015.

Cpl. Johnathan Anderson-RancipherU.S. Marine CorpsGraduated from high school in 2012 and entered into the U.S. Marine Corps. Deployed to Afghanistan serving with the 1st Marine CLB 7.

2nd Lt. Michael Francis BrodniakU.S. ArmyGraduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on May 28, 2014, and was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant of field artillery. He earned a Bachelor of Science in geospatial information systems. He reported to Fort Sill, Okla., for his first assignment.

1st Lt. James S. BrooksU.S. ArmyGraduated from Texas Tech University in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts in marketing. He entered the U.S. Army in 2012, attending BCT & Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning. Serves as an infantry officer in the 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss. He was promoted to first lieutenant this spring.

Lt. Col. Greg CannataU.S. ArmyAssumed command of 1st Battalion, 306th Infantry Regiment on March 28, 2014. The next day his son, Gregory, was presented his Eagle Scout with all four generations of Eagle Scouts present.

Eagle Scout John C. Whitehead led a landing craft onto Omaha Beach on D-Day, and he never stopped

leading others to a better future. He died in February at 92.

As a partner at Goldman Sachs (where he eventually became co-chairman), Whitehead crafted a code of ethics the firm still uses today. As deputy secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan, he convinced the administration to back Polish democracy activist Lech Walesa. As chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, he led the emotionally and politically fraught effort to redevelop the World Trade Center site after 9/11.

The Distinguished Eagle Scout was also a lifelong supporter of Scouting. Alair Townsend, co-chair of the Greater New York Councils, wrote in Crain’s New

J.R.R. Tolkien famously wrote, “Not all those who wander are lost.” But many wanderers are lost, including nearly

two-thirds of America’s 5.2 million Alzheimer’s patients. Their nocturnal wanderings not only put them at risk of accidents but also keep their caregivers up at night worrying.

Kenneth Shinozuka’s aunt is one of those caregivers; his grandfather is one of those patients. Their experiences inspired Kenneth, a 16-year-old Eagle Scout from New York City, to invent SafeWander, a wearable sensor that alerts caregiv-ers when patients stray from their beds. Last year, the invention earned Kenneth the $50,000 Scientific American Science in Action Award as part of the Google Science Fair competition, in which he was one of 15 global finalists. He also won a Next Generation Breakthrough Award from Popular Mechanics, received a $25,000 college scholarship from the Davidson Institute for Talent Development and was awarded the New York City Alzheimer’s

An Invention for Alzheimer’s Patients

Association’s first Young Innovators Award. Most important, however, he gained peace of mind from knowing that his grandfather is safe.

Kenneth’s family first realized that his grandfather might have Alzheimer’s more than a decade ago, when he got lost during a walk in a park. Over the years, his condi-tion worsened and Kenneth’s aunt took on more responsibility when caring for him.

“She was feeling very fatigued during the daytime because she had to take care of him all night,” Kenneth says.

Three years ago, as Kenneth watched his grandfather get out of bed, he got an idea. Kenneth realized he could attach a sensor to the heel of his grandfather’s sock that would sound an alarm on his aunt’s smartphone. That would allow her to sleep through the night and still be able to act when needed.

It took Kenneth two years to turn his idea into reality. He had to create a wear-able, wireless sensor that could instantly and reliably detect changes in foot pressure. He had to create a low-power system for communicating with the caregiver’s smart-phone. And he had to code a smartphone app to receive data and sound an alarm. And he had to do all that while attending high school and completing the require-ments to become an Eagle Scout (which involved leading a completely separate service project).

Once he created the system, Kenneth tested it on his grandfather. For more than a one-year period, the device successfully detected 100 percent of the more than 900 known cases when his grandfather got out of bed — with zero false alarms. Last May, he received U.S. patent 8736439 for his invention.

Kenneth is continuing to test his device at several care facilities while he works to improve it. High on his priority list is creat-ing a Wi-Fi solution that works when the caregiver is farther away from the patient’s room than Bluetooth technology allows. He expects to have a commercially viable version this year. “The current device is very close to a final product, but it just needs some final touches,” he says.

While the device has commercial potential, Kenneth dreams of the day when it won’t be needed. “It would be great to explore neuroscience and the mysteries of the brain more,” he says. “My grandfather is just one of the 36 million Alzheimer’s and dementia patients in the world, and my dream is to find a cure.”

For more information about Kenneth’s invention, visit safewander.com.

From D-Day to 9/11Remembering John C. Whitehead

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2nd Lt. Nathan DavisonU.S. ArmyGraduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in May 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in psychology. He is a second lieutenant in the infantry branch, reporting to Fort Wainwright in Alaska for his fi rst assignment.

Private Fourth Class Nicholas M. HillU.S. Army Special Forces AirborneCompleted basic training in South Carolina; intelligence-analyst training in Arizona; U.S. Airborne school in Georgia; deployed to Germany.

2nd Class Adam Drake JohnsonU.S. NavyAfter graduating from high school in 2013, Adam accepted an appointment at the U.S. Naval Academy. He plays baseball for the Midshipmen. He is in his second year at the academy and is now serving as a training corporal.

Master Sgt. Anthony Matela Jr.U.S. Air ForceRecently promoted to master sergeant and given the responsibility of NCO in charge of the Combat Arms shop with the 914th Security Forces Squadron at the Niagara Falls reserve station. Was also deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, during which time he was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal.

2nd Lt. Samuel D. Womack U.S. Marine CorpsGraduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on May 23, 2014. Was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps.

Dr. Dennis B. Baily, 66Scituate, Mass.Eagle: 1966Passed: June 2014

Michael Robert Dady, 17Silverdale, Wash.Eagle: 2012Passed: March 2014

L. Craig Fulmer, 71Distinguished Eagle ScoutElkhart, Ind.Eagle: 1955Passed: May 21, 2014

Wilbur D. Geeding, 91Chanute, Kan.Eagle: 1936Passed: March 1, 2014

Peter Edward Haas, 55Chicago, Ill.Eagle: 1950Passed: January 1990

Ryan J. Jessop, 26Aiken, S.C.Eagle: 2006Passed: December 2014

Courtenay Arthur Marshall, 77Silver Spring, Md.Eagle: 1950Passed: June 8, 2014

Gilbert Quintanilla, 30Independence, Mo.Eagle: 2001Passed: June 2014

Harold E. Sautter, 68Central City, Neb.Eagle: 1962Passed: June 2014

Once an Eagle ...... Always an Eagle. NESA remembers Eagle Scouts who have passed. Recognize the life of another Eagle by completing the form found at nesa.org/eaglegonehome. This link also provides more information on how to make a Living Memorial donation in the name of a deceased Eagle.

For God and CountryMany young men exchange their Scout uniforms for fatigues, dress blues or battle dress uniforms. NESA salutes the Eagle Scouts shown below who are serving our nation in all branches of the armed forces. Recognize another Eagle by completing the form found at nesa.org/eaglegodandcountry.

Lt. Col. Laird AbbottU.S. Air ForceIn June 2014, Lt. Col. Abbott assumed command of Defense Contract Management Agency Boeing Long Beach, where he is responsible for contract administration services for the C-17 Globemaster III program. He will be the fi nal commander, as the Boeing Long Beach Plant will close after C-17 production ends in 2015.

Cpl. Johnathan Anderson-RancipherU.S. Marine CorpsGraduated from high school in 2012 and entered into the U.S. Marine Corps. Deployed to Afghanistan serving with the 1st Marine CLB 7.

2nd Lt. Michael Francis BrodniakU.S. ArmyGraduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on May 28, 2014, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant of fi eld artillery. He earned a Bachelor of Science in geospatial information systems. He reported to Fort Sill, Okla., for his fi rst assignment.

1st Lt. James S. BrooksU.S. ArmyGraduated from Texas Tech University in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts in marketing. He entered the U.S. Army in 2012, attending BCT & Offi cer Candidate School at Fort Benning. Serves as an infantry offi cer in the 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss. He was promoted to fi rst lieutenant this spring.

Lt. Col. Greg CannataU.S. ArmyAssumed command of 1st Battalion, 306th Infantry Regiment on March 28, 2014. The next day his son, Gregory, was presented his Eagle Scout with all four generations of Eagle Scouts present.

Gregory Martin Friscia, 17Palm Desert, Calif.Eagle: 2012Passed: March 24, 2013On behalf of his mother, Karen Friscia

Living Memorials

For God and Country / Once an Eagle ... // ACHIEVEMENTS

“She was feeling very fatigued during the daytime because she had to take care of him all night,” Kenneth says.

Three years ago, as Kenneth watched his grandfather get out of bed, he got an idea. Kenneth realized he could attach a sensor to the heel of his grandfather’s sock that would sound an alarm on his aunt’s smartphone. That would allow her to sleep through the night and still be able to act when needed.

It took Kenneth two years to turn his idea into reality. He had to create a wear-able, wireless sensor that could instantly and reliably detect changes in foot pressure. He had to create a low-power system for communicating with the caregiver’s smart-phone. And he had to code a smartphone app to receive data and sound an alarm. And he had to do all that while attending high school and completing the require-ments to become an Eagle Scout (which involved leading a completely separate service project).

Once he created the system, Kenneth tested it on his grandfather. For more than a one-year period, the device successfully detected 100 percent of the more than 900 known cases when his grandfather got out of bed — with zero false alarms. Last May, he received U.S. patent 8736439 for his invention.

Kenneth is continuing to test his device at several care facilities while he works to improve it. High on his priority list is creat-ing a Wi-Fi solution that works when the caregiver is farther away from the patient’s room than Bluetooth technology allows. He expects to have a commercially viable version this year. “The current device is very close to a fi nal product, but it just needs some fi nal touches,” he says.

While the device has commercial potential, Kenneth dreams of the day when it won’t be needed. “It would be great to explore neuroscience and the mysteries of the brain more,” he says. “My grandfather is just one of the 36 million Alzheimer’s and dementia patients in the world, and my dream is to fi nd a cure.”

For more information about Kenneth’s invention, visit safewander.com. F

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Achievement_ES_15SU.indd 19 5/27/15 2:33 PM

Michael A. BushHouma, La.Graduated with a Bachelor of Science in construction engineering technology from Louisiana Tech University. He is employed

with Halliburton in Bellefonte, Pa.

Spencer CoffmanAlexandria, Minn.Graduated from Alexandria Technical College at age 17 with an Associate of Science degree in individualized

professional studies and a diploma in concrete masonry. In 2012, at 19, he graduated from Minnesota State University Moorhead with bachelor’s degrees in psychology and philosophy.

Edward CrawfordPingree, IdahoReceived the Lions Club International Foundation Melvin Jones Fellow Award in June 2013. He was elected as district

governor of the Lions Clubs in Southeastern Idaho District 39E.

Derek DoddridgeYorktown, Va.Earned a Bachelor of Science in environmental science from George Mason University and was commissioned

into the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant in Air Defense Artillery.

Wesley DodsworthUtica, OhioGraduated cum laude from Tiffi n University with a Bachelor of Criminal Justice.

Patrick Shawn DurkinParkton, Md.Graduated from Arizona State University in May 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in geography, with a minor in sustainability

and certifi cate in geographic information science. Durkin currently volunteers as an intern at Gila River Indian Community and as student assistant at 2014 Esri International User Conference. In August 2014, he started the ASU Master of Applied Science in Geographic Information System program.

Evan J. HansenRochester, Minn.Awarded the Distinguished Leader Scholarship at North Central College in Naperville, Ill. Evan will be a sophomore

this fall and is majoring in organizational communication. He plans to earn the Master of Leadership Studies Degree through North Central’s fi ve-year Integrated Bachelor’s/Master’s Leadership Program.

Eric D. Hian-CheongCroissy-sur-Seine, FranceEarned a master’s degree in strategic communication from The American University, Washington, D.C., in May 2014.

A fellowship award with Outreach Strategies, a PR fi rm, helped him complete his education. During his college years, Eric continued community service work through membership in his fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega.

Paul F. KelmerBrandon, Fla.Following a 44-year career with IBM Corporation, Paul retired in 2012 and became involved with Tampa Bay

Watch, an organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of the Tampa Bay estuary. After just one year, Paul was named the Tampa Bay Watch Volunteer of the Year in March of 2013 and in August was recognized with the State Farm Pitch-In Award for his efforts.

Michael W. LaneyCamarillo, Calif.Elected president of the California Geotechnical Engineering Association. He has served on this organization board

since 2007. Laney is a senior geotechnical engineer in the Energy Sector at Terracon Consultants Inc. and Cubmaster for Pack 3387 in Olathe, Kan.

Dr. Nicholas Leon-GuerreroModesto, Calif.Graduated from the Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco, Calif. Nicholas is currently at Kings County in Brooklyn,

N.Y., completing a dental residency.

Rick PitonyakSan Diego, Calif.Won the Stop.Challenge.Choose. competition with Take Shape For Life in June 2014 in the men’s 46-61 age group. The

competition boasted 21,000 participants with 10 awardees.

Sidney P. ScheerAlbuquerque, N.M.Graduated with a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in marketing and operations management from

the University of New Mexico, Anderson School of Business.

Christian A. SheltonCoushatta, La.Graduated magna cum laude from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, La., with a Bachelor of Science in economics.

Last fall, he was named most outstanding senior in the business department. He plans to continue his education at Louisiana Tech to obtain a Master of Business Administration while working at First National Bank.

Awards & RecognitionEagle Scouts shine, even after reaching the top honor in Scouting. NESA celebrates the achievements of the Eagle Scouts shown below. Recognize the success of an Eagle by completing the form found at nesa.org/eaglemagawards.

Gary StanoLivonia, Mich.Named the 2013 recipient of George Hebert Lifetime Service Award from Alma College. The award is presented

for loyalty and service to Alma College and its alumni association. Stano has been instrumental in running several large reunions, has helped with student recruitment and was a member of the college alumni board, among other activities.

Dr. Timothy SzwarcHillsborough, N.J.Graduated from Stanford University with a doctorate in aeronautical and astronautical engineering. He is

employed by NASA as an engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Spencer B. TempletonWildwood, Mo.The Missouri Association of Colleges for Teacher Education has named Templeton one of Missouri’s Outstanding Beginning

Teachers. Spencer teaches physics and engineering in the Ferguson-Florissant School District.

Steven W. TrimbleNorwalk, OhioWhile serving as assistant council commissioner for commissioner training, he was awarded the Distinguished

Commissioner award by the BSA’s Heart of Ohio Council in Ashland, Ohio.

Brian WestfallLaVale, Md.Appointed district deputy grand exalted ruler for the Maryland West District of the BPO Elks. He is a past exalted ruler

of the Frostburg, Md., lodge and a past vice president of the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. area Elks Association. He currently serves the association as Scouting coordinator.

David L. WiemerBurlington, IowaRetired in 1990 from the Rockford (Ill.) Park District. District merit badge counselor and author of Down His River of

Dreams: The Story of the First American Boy Scout (2005).

Ryan Edward WolfSan Diego, Calif.Graduated with a Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of California, San Diego.

ACHIEVEMENTS // Awards & Recognition

20 EAGLES’ CALL

Achievement_ES_15SU.indd 20 5/27/15 2:08 PM

Eagle Scouting Is a Family A� airScouting’s highest honor is best shared with other generations of family members. Join NESA in celebrating the families of Eagle Scouts shown below. Recognize the Eagles in your own family by completing the form found at nesa.org/eaglefamilyaffair.

Abel Family Santa Rosa, Calif.

William Abel (1983), Thomas Abel (2014), Mark Abel (1977) and Jonathan Abel (1982)

Balko Family Fairbanks, Alaska

Joseph J. Balko (2014), Christian J. Balko (2012) and Michael C. Balko (2009)

Cook Family Mulhall, Okla.

Jacob Cook (2008), Ben Cook (2014) and Joseph Cook (2011)

Dietel Family Alpharetta, Ga.

Thomas Patrick Dietel (2013), Matthew Christopher Dietel (2010) and Christopher Thomas Dietel (1984)

Eide Family Fargo, N.D.

Thomas Sterling Eide (2014), John David Eide (1976) and David Styrk Eide (2010)

Kezer Family Santa Rosa, Calif.

Loren Kezer (2009) and Quinn Kezer (2014)

Larsen Family Huntingtown, Md.

Randy Larsen IV (2014) and Randy Larsen III (1986)

Mackay Family Crofton, Md.

Tom Mackay (2008) and David Mackay (1969)

O’Neill Family New City, N.Y.

Jonathan Andrew O’Neill (2012), James Anthony O’Neill (1973), Peter Robert O’Neill (2014) and David Eric O’Neill (2008)

Pearson Family Marietta, Ga.

Ellis Pearson (2014), Cameron Pearson (2011) and Evan Pearson (2014)

Fernandez Family Caguas, Puerto Rico

Francisco Fernandez Jr. (2007), Francisco Fernandez Sr. (1982) and Javier Fernandez (2011)

Gero Family Madison, W.Va.

Joe Gero (1958) and Ryan Gero (1993)

Haase Family Wassenaar, Netherlands

Mark Jelle Haase (2013) and Peter Coenraad Haase (2014)

Ingram Family Plano, Texas

Drew Ingram (2013), Bob Ingram (1983), Nick Ingram (2014) and Jake Ingram (2014)

Jones Family Draper, Utah

Andrew Rex Jones (1997), Bradley Rex Jones II (1999), Christen Niels Jones (2001), Garrett Collier Jones (2008) and Hayden Wright Jones (2010)

at Louisiana Tech to obtain a Master of Business Administration while working at First National Bank.

Gary StanoLivonia, Mich.Named the 2013 recipient of George Hebert Lifetime Service Award from Alma College. The award is presented

for loyalty and service to Alma College and its alumni association. Stano has been instrumental in running several large reunions, has helped with student recruitment and was a member of the college alumni board, among other activities.

Dr. Timothy SzwarcHillsborough, N.J.Graduated from Stanford University with a doctorate in aeronautical and astronautical engineering. He is

employed by NASA as an engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Spencer B. TempletonWildwood, Mo.The Missouri Association of Colleges for Teacher Education has named Templeton one of Missouri’s Outstanding Beginning

Teachers. Spencer teaches physics and engineering in the Ferguson-Florissant School District.

Steven W. TrimbleNorwalk, OhioWhile serving as assistant council commissioner for commissioner training, he was awarded the Distinguished

Commissioner award by the BSA’s Heart of Ohio Council in Ashland, Ohio.

Brian WestfallLaVale, Md.Appointed district deputy grand exalted ruler for the Maryland West District of the BPO Elks. He is a past exalted ruler

of the Frostburg, Md., lodge and a past vice president of the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. area Elks Association. He currently serves the association as Scouting coordinator.

David L. WiemerBurlington, IowaRetired in 1990 from the Rockford (Ill.) Park District. District merit badge counselor and author of Down His River of

Dreams: The Story of the First American Boy Scout (2005).

Ryan Edward WolfSan Diego, Calif.Graduated with a Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of California, San Diego.

Family Affair // ACHIEVEMENTS

SUMMER 2015 SUMMER 2015 21

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OA CENTENNIALA Distinctive Observance of a Unique Scouting ExperienceMODEL NO. H006OA

PHILMONT® EDITIONRecalling this Historic Outpostfor Scouting AdventuresMODEL NO. HOO1TPM

HENRY BOY SCOUT™ EDITIONS

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Made In America Or Not Made At All

EAGLE SCOUT®Praising Those Who Reach the Pinnacle of ScoutingMODEL NO. HOO4ES

BOY SCOUT™ CENTENNIALCelebrating Scouting’s 100th

Anniversary of Service and LeadershipMODEL NO. H004BSA

EAGLE SCOUT® CENTENNIALCelebrating the 100th Anniversary of Scouting’s Highest RankMODEL NO. H006ES

SALUTE TO SCOUTING® Honoring Scouting’s Core Valuesof Duty to God and Country, Others and SelfMODEL NO. H004STS

®

Made in America Or Not Made At All

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Boy Scouts of America®, the Universal Emblem, badges of rank, BSA Centennial logo, Eagle Scout®, Philmont® and Order of the Arrow® are either registered trademarks or trademarks of the Boy Scouts of America in the United States and/or other countries. Manufacturedunder license from the Boy Scouts of America. All rights reserved.

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