Staff Report
Three local boys from Troop 109 recently earned the right to call themselves Eagle Scout. At a triple ceremony in August at Holy Innocents Episcopal Church in Valrico, Justin Mayne, Cameron Eppich and Casey Dixon were recognized as earning the highest rank in Boy Scouting.
In order to attain the rank of Eagle Scout, a boy must complete an individual service project which benefits the community.
Mayne, Eppich and Dixon collectively spent 200 hours (along with the volunteer help from younger scouts) to complete three projects:
At Masonic Youth Camp, Mayne organized a project to build a floating dock to be used by all visitors. This dock included a ladder and a bench and will be used by Camp Pioneer and the Boy and Girl Scouts coming to Masonic to work on various water skills like swimming, canoeing and kayaking.
At the same camp, Dixon designed, fundraised and led the building and installation of 11 firewood shelters to supplement the Masonic Park and youth camp’s designated camping areas. The creation of these shelters will be used by various camping groups to preserve and keep firewood dry.
Eppich led and organized a project to benefit his church community. He dismantled an old fence around a well at the church, and built a new fence around it that will withstand the elements and time.
These young men have enjoyed week-long out-of-state campouts, national jamboree events, the camaraderie of working together as a unit to volunteer at community events, share their knowledge with younger scouts and persevering through difficult challenges.
According to Dixon, his most memorable scouting moment was a tire blowout. “While for most a blowout wouldn’t be exciting the time our van blew out two tires on the way back from summer camp is one of my favorite memories. It brought the troop a lot closer through the combined struggle and I got to test my skills at roadside tire changing.”
Mayne plans to pursue a career in the United States Air Force, while Eppich plans to head to the University of Central Florida and Dixon plans to head to Florida Polytechnic. All the Eagle scouts plan to “pay it forward” to scouting by coming back to the Troop and becoming leaders to the next generation of scouts. Email bsatroop109valrico@gmail.com.
