On the evening of 6 June 2023, Saint Timothy’s Catholic Church-sponsored Troop 7369 celebrated six Eagle Scouts’ journeys with an Eagle Court of Honor. Four of these fun-loving Scouts (Finn Geary, Liam Axelrod, Lucus Jadryev, and Rakendu Malladi) began their Scouting journey in 2011 as first graders in Greenbriar West Elementary School-sponsored Pack 1133. Ganesh Rayavarapu joined in third grade and Connor Kentfield joined in fourth grade. As Cubs, these Scouts enjoyed a full range of “go-see-its”, campouts, Scouting for Food events, Camp Snyder events, and Chantilly High School Homecoming Parades. They competed in Space and Pinewood Derbies, bake-offs, and Rain Gutter Regattas. Several attended Goshen Summer Camp and would tell you “Ross is Boss!” Den leader, Renee Geary, began with five first graders and the numbers rose steadily. By the time the Cubs were fifth graders, twenty-seven were registered. Her Cub may have recruited other fifth graders by informing them that in Scouting, they could set things on fire, use knives, and launch rockets. Luckily, the Cubmaster Mike Stone led the newest Scouts, leaving Renee with a regular roster of sixteen Cubs. At the Pack 1133 crossover event, eleven of the sixteen crossed over to Troop 7369. Later, three additional former Pack 1133 Cubs joined their friends in Troop 7369. Of the fourteen Pack 1133 Cubs, seven have gone on to earn the Eagle rank with Troop 7369.
As these Scouts took ownership of their Scouting journeys in Troop 7369, they continued their commitment to service, rank advancement, personal growth, leadership, and putting the OUTING in SCOUTING. More adventures at Camp Snyder, Camp Rodney, New York City, Assateague Island beach (twice), Westmoreland State Park, Antietam, and more, gave them opportunities to demonstrate skills
and leadership. Many of these Scouts hiked over 70 mile treks at Philmont High Adventure Camp. Finn Geary and Liam Axelrod liked Philmont so much, they trekked in 2019 and 2021!
When it was time to complete an Eagle Scout Project, each Scout’s project was unique.
Finn Geary led a project to build 50 desks for beneficiary She Believes in Me in Herndon for students to have desks in their homes to attend virtual school during the pandemic.
Connor Kentfield led a project to build and install little library boxes at a local playground and other locations of his Rotary beneficiary’s choice.
Ganesh Rayavarapu led a project to install concrete pavers for beneficiary SV Lotus Hindu Temple. Liam Axelrod led a project to paint murals he designed on two walls for beneficiary Greenbriar West Elementary School.
Rakendu Malladi led a project to build a shed to store emergency disaster supplies for the Fairfax branch of the Salvation Army.
Lucus Jadryev led a project to give back at his former elementary school, Greenbriar East Elementary School, where he led the building and installation of a bench around a tree and additional landscaping and flag pole area beautification.
In their Eagle speeches, each of these Scouts acknowledged the fun and challenges that led them to Eagle and their gratitude for having done it all together.
Austin Snip teamed up with Gold Star Post 191 to meet a need in his community. He had a prior relationship with the Post, which is the Chartered Organization for Sea Scout Ship 1191, and they shared that they had a surplus of U.S. flag donations. Since they wanted to retire the flags but didn’t have the time to do so, Austin found an opportunity to provide service for his Eagle project. At first, the estimate started with around 100 flags in the proposal steps but that number then jumped to about 1,000 during the planning process.
To start off the project, a few volunteers met at the Post to move the flags from the Post’s underground storage to a trailer for transportation. Once they arrived at the incinerator, volunteers from three different units (Troop 1450, Troop 447, and Ship 1191) as well as non-scouting volunteers worked to unload the trailer and begin folding flags.
The Gaithersburg High School Navy Junior ROTC color guard was kind enough to provide their services in the opening and closing colors. Multiple military veterans working at the incinerator came out to watch the ceremony. The total number of flags we retired came out to be 2,171 U.S. flags. Afterward, any volunteers who stayed till the end were treated to pizza and were able to tour the flag incinerator.”
Zane spotted a chance to reuse old tennis balls in addition to reducing waste. Zane explained, “My project is a huge success, with over 10,000 tennis balls collected and recycled. The used tennis balls are sent to Recycle Balls in Vermont and used for a variety of purposes, such as playground surfaces, sports surfaces, and pet toys. Recycle Balls is a non-profit organization in Vermont that specializes in recycling tennis balls. They have recycled over 10 million balls since 2016. Each tennis ball takes 400 years to decompose and millions of tennis balls are disposed of in landfills each year”. This Eagle Scout project not only reduced waste but also made a positive impact on the environment by keeping used tennis balls out of landfills. Zane educated over 300 individuals about recycling tennis balls.
The Scout BSAs of America’s Distinguished Conservation Service Award program honors scouts who carry out significant conservation projects. The Distinguished Conservation Service Award project requirements are more rigorous than a Scout BSA Eagle Award project. To earn the award, Scouts must complete two Eagle Scout environmentally related projects. It requires the Scout to conduct in depth research of a conservation issue; determine a solution; write a report; plan, execute and lead a project; educate the community outreach; write final project reports; present their projects and findings before a conservation committee; and earn 7 conservation type merit badges.