This spring, Colonial leaders, volunteers, and their families joined together for the annual volunteer award recognition dinner. This was an opportunity for all of us to join together and say, “thank you!” to the women and men who volunteer countless hours to make Scouting possible in our units and across the entire Colonial District.
In addition to recognizing Colonial’s volunteer leaders for their contributions, the highlight of the evening was the recognition of volunteers who have served Colonial for more than twenty years. In 1998, the Colonial District was formed when the former George Washington District was split into three other districts — Colonial, Patriot, and Chain Bridge. In those twenty years, Colonial has been privileged to have a number of volunteers grow and strengthen the Scouting program for our area youth. Those volunteers who have graciously donated twenty years of service are Dominick Caridi, Terry Gigure, Linda Hill, Paul MacDonald, Joe Pallone, and Demi Pulas.
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Two Colonial Eagles were recently honored by the Rotary Club of Alexandria for their community service and academic accomplishments. For its inaugural year, Eagles Owen Biesada and Ian Peverall each received a $1,500 scholarship to continue their education this fall.
Owen is an Eagle Scout from Troop 129 chartered by Westminster Presbyterian Church in Alexandria. He will graduate from T.C. Williams High School and will attend Texas Christian University. For his Eagle Scout project, Owen spearheaded an effort to repair and maintain trails, picnic tables and facilities at Hidden Oaks Nature Center in Annandale.
Ian is an Eagle Scout in Troop 4077 chartered by St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. He will graduate from Mt. Vernon High School and attend the College of William and Mary. For his Eagle Scout project, Ian led the effort to fund, manufacture and deliver 35 blankets to Shriners Hospital for Children in Philadelphia. The blankets are used to comfort the children as they receive treatment at Shriners Hospital.
Congratulations to Owen and Ian for being the first Colonial Eagles to earn these awards from the Alexandria Rotary. We wish them the very best as the embark on the next chapter in their lives.
