NESA.org
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THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE FOR EAGLE SCOUTS
SUMMER 2017
DISNEY’S HIDDEN HERO Eagle Scout turns a crumbling New York theater into a place fit for a King.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: Pinewood Derby Cars Begin Journey at Eagle-Owned Mill Update: NESA World Explorers Travel Globe Service Project Honors Classmate’s Life U.S. Air Force Academy Eagles at Philmont
BUCKLE UP! Wear your uniform with pride and show your NESA spirit with the 2017 belt buckle varieties. Visit nesastore.org for more details.
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Eagles’ Call
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On the Cover
On page 10, Distinguished Eagle Scout Dana Amendola shares how he taps into the skills learned in Scouting to help bring success to Disney’s Broadway stages. Cover photograph by W. Garth Dowling.
NATIONAL EAGLE SCOUT ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT Frank Tsuru DIRECTOR Dustin Farris
NESA COMMITTEE Glenn Adams, Steve Bowen, Rick Bragga, Dr. David Briscoe, Howard Bulloch, Ray Capp, Dan Coberly, Clark W. Fetridge, Forrest Gertin, Dr. Ken King, Dr. Michael Manyak, Lou Paulson, Rich Pfaltzgraff, Todd R. Plotner, Congressman Pete Sessions, Joe Weingarten Regents consist of more than 600 life members of NESA who are recipients of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.
Contents
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Michael Goldman MANAGING EDITOR Paula Murphey SENIOR EDITOR Bryan Wendell SENIOR WRITER Aaron Derr ASSOCIATE EDITORS Gretchen Sparling Clay Swartz SENIOR DIGITAL EDITOR Bryan Wursten DIGITAL EDITOR Keith Faber COPY EDITOR Lauren Iriarte EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Adryn Shackelford SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS Cassie Dooley, Brittany Hale, Ryan Larson, Jeff Laughlin, Mark Ray
FROM TOP: THETA CHAPTER, EPSILON TAU PI, GEORGIA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY; COURTESY OF THE THOMAS FAMILY; W. GARTH DOWLING (2)
DESIGN DIRECTOR Eric Ottinger PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR W. Garth Dowling ART DIRECTORS Elizabeth Hardaway Morgan Kevin Hurley PHOTO EDITOR Edna J. Lemons PRODUCTION MANAGER Lenore Bonno IMAGING ARTIST Marcie Rodriguez
HONORARY PRESIDENT, BSA PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES Donald Trump PRESIDENT, BSA Randall L. Stephenson NATIONAL COMMISSIONER Charles W. Dahlquist, II CHIEF SCOUT EXECUTIVE Michael Surbaugh MAGAZINES ADVISORY COMMITTEE David Talbot (Chairman) Ethan Draddy, James G. Elliott, Allen Pusey, Beth Reynolds, Paul Sammon, Jeff Stoffer, Alair Townsend, Jonathan Withington FOR SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION AND CUSTOMER SERVICE: (866) 584-6589 ADVERTISING INFORMATION: (212) 532-0985 ADVERTISING OFFICES: 1040 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS, SUITE 16A, NEW YORK, NY 10018
scoutingworks@scouting.org
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VOL. 43, NO. 2
Features 10
Take a Bow By Bryan Wendell
Learn how Distinguished Eagle Scout Dana
Amendola brings sparkle to Disney’s Broadway stages.
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Strong Roots By Mark Ray
Meet the family of Eagle Scouts who runs Woodgrain Millwork, where Pinewood Derby cars start their journey.
CORPORATE ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR John Stewart NATIONAL SALES DIRECTOR Jay Stuart SENIOR ADVERTISING MANAGERS Bob Lusk (Southern Region) Patricia Santangelo (Northeast Region) ADVERTISING MANAGERS Brian Cabanban (Central Region) Tanya Mitchell (Western Region) PRINT AD PRODUCTION MANAGERS Lisa Hott (Scouting and Eagles’ Call ) Leah Myers (Boys’ Life) DIGITAL AD PRODUCTION MANAGER Patrice Eulin MARKETING & RESEARCH Jillian Foley (Marketing Specialist) Jennifer Chan (Research Analyst) SALES & MARKETING ASSISTANT Karie Sconyers CIRCULATION MANAGER Judy Bramlett
SUMMER 2017
Departments
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2 News From the Trailhead 3 Members 6 Community 8 Lifestyle 18 Achievements
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 © 2017 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.
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NESA.org
Visit NESA online to submit your Eagle Scout projects, see more Eagle achievements, apply for scholarships and more.
SUMMER 2017
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News From the Trailhead
SUMMER 2017
Eagles’ Call
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Dustin Farris (left), NESA director, and Frank Tsuru, NESA president.
From the Director
ROGER MORGAN/BSA FILE PHOTO
When did George Dennis become an Eagle Scout? Here are a few clues: His favorite merit badge was Blacksmithing. His Eagle Scout letter was signed by James E. West, the BSA’s first Chief Scout Executive. And he went on to serve in the U.S. Navy during World War II. If you guessed 1930, you’re right. Dennis, who passed away in 2015 at age 101, became an Eagle Scout 87 years ago. When interviewed for a story appearing in Alumni Alive!, a newsletter for Scouting Alumni members, he said he still remembered hiking with his buddies from Troop 2, attending summer camp at Camp Tuscazoar in Ohio and spending months sharpening his new blacksmithing skills. Imagine looking back on more than 90 years of Scouting memories and reflecting on the importance of the journey you embarked on at age 12. Dennis’ blacksmithing skills probably didn’t help him much as an aerial photographer in the Navy or as a graphic artist for half a century. But the leadership skills and values he learned in Scouting certainly did. As an adult, Dennis served as a Scoutmaster of Troop 152 in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, leading 150 boys on the same Scouting adventures he grew up loving. Later, he moved with his wife and two sons to Pompano Beach, Fla., where he volunteered with Troop 299. I’m guessing Dennis didn’t teach blacksmithing to the hundreds of Scouts he served during the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s. Instead, he taught them equally impractical skills like building signal towers, knowing — like Mr. Star, his Scoutmaster back in Troop 2 — that the real lessons he was teaching had nothing to do with clove hitches and square lashes. I have no doubt that many of Dennis’ Scouts went on to be Scout leaders themselves, teaching the same leadership skills and timeless values they learned from him and that Dennis learned from Mr. Star. Scouting works because youth learn by doing. Scouts look at the world as a classroom with endless opportunities. The skills they develop are ones they can use every day, even if they never make another horseshoe, build another signal tower, or (like Scouts today) conduct experiments on air and water pollution. Whatever your age, you can look back on your time in Scouting and see the differences the program has made in your life. Will you, like Dennis, pay the gift forward? Scouts and Scouters: The bar has been set. Are you up for the challenge?
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From the President
Last month, I had an opportunity to speak at a gathering of men in Midland, Texas. This town is right in the hot spot of commerce and activity for the oil and gas industry. It is definitely a place where fortunes are made — and sometimes lost. The topic of my discussion was how I keep my business running smoothly regardless of boom or bust. The cyclic nature of the oil and gas industry is a prime example of how external things — totally out of your control — can and will change your business. This topic was a big hit with the younger guys who are just starting their careers and trying to find stable footing to lead them forward in business. I told the audience that I have five pillars at the foundation of my company and the half-dozen or so previous companies I have had the honor and privilege to be a part of. These five pillars are principlecentered values that have always been at the core of my company’s culture. The first is give all glory to God. This is simple and keeps all our thoughts grounded. Everything we do, everything we build and everything we reap as a result of our hard work belongs to God. We are simply stewards of his resources and wealth. The second is to pay attention to details. There is no detail too small and no position too high that should not be paying attention to details. The third is to stay humble in your successes. In a time of very outspoken leadership, sometimes it is difficult to think there is any place for humility. Yet humility is a critical component of a successful organization. It takes more courage to be humble and admit that there is a better way or a better design than what you may have recommended. The fourth is to continuously build and get a little better every day. Every organization must strive to continuously improve on what they are doing. The fifth and final pillar is to set an example. People are watching what you do, how you do it and how you treat others. You set an example not only by what you do, but also by what you say. These five pillars have been infused into every one of the companies for which I have worked. They translate well to my role as a Scout leader and can even be applied to youth leadership positions like senior patrol leader. Who knows … maybe these pillars will help you be the best troop at the Jamboree this summer! I will see you there.
Once an Eagle Always an Eagle,
Yours in Scouting,
Dustin Farris
Frank Tsuru
EAGLES’ CALL
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Epsilon Tau Pi // MEMBERS
Eagle Scouts Go to College
COURTESY OF THETA CHAPTER, EPSILON TAU PI, GEORGIA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY
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ot long after he became an Eagle Scout as a high school sophomore, Fayetteville, Ga., resident Taylor Daly took a break from Scouting. That break might have lasted until he was old enough to have Scoutaged children of his own had he not heard about Epsilon Tau Pi during his freshman year at Georgia Southern University. He attended a meeting about the Eagle Scout-only fraternity that year and was hooked. “It’s pretty much a bunch of really cool guys hanging out that say they’re involved in Scouting,” he says. “I think that’s the thing I was waiting on to get back active in Scouting after that coupleof-year break I had.” Today, the college senior represents Theta Chapter on the fraternity’s national executive board and is more passionate than ever about Scouting and service. “We want to serve the community, and we want to grow nationally,” he says. “We want to just get the word out that we are an established community of Eagle Scouts that are working very hard to serve our communities.” Michael Hammes, Michael A. Mahon and six fellow Eagle Scouts founded Epsilon Tau Pi in 1999 at the University of Dayton. “The goal was to get a group of people who shared Scouting experiences growing up, enjoyed doing Scouting activities, and create a fraternity with those individuals,” National Executive Board Chairman Michael Brazeau says. “They realized after moving away from their home councils that they wanted to continue to be able to do Scouting-type activities and serve back the Scouting organization.” Service has a different look in each of nine active chapters. Several hold merit badge universities, for example, while others connect with local Scout camps or even individual troops. At Georgia Southern, several brothers typically serve on staff at nearby Black Creek Scout Reservation, where the chapter has handled projects like removing cots from campsites after the summer season.
Members of Epsilon Tau Pi make a difference in communities across Georgia. Service projects include cleaning up trails, volunteering at a Cub Scout climbing wall, providing drinks and snacks for students during finals at Georgia Southern University, working at a soup kitchen and more.
“Within two hours, we had all the cots taken up and transported to the storage facility,” Daly says. “It’s something the ranger said would have taken him probably a couple of weeks to take care of, but we got it done in one afternoon.” The fraternity’s service goes beyond Scouting. Daly’s chapter requires each candidate class to complete a service project. One class replaced benches in a local church’s outdoor seating area. “I thought that was a really good example of our brothers reflecting on the community that gives something to us and thinking about how they could help them,” Daly says. The chapter has also collaborated on service projects with the service sorority Omega Phi Alpha. (Omega Phi Alpha began in the 1950s as a sister organization to Alpha Phi Omega, a fraternity also based on Scouting values.) Epsilon Tau Pi also seeks to strengthen its members’ ties with their universities.
Brazeau says he chose to attend Dayton because of the fraternity. An older Scout from his troop was a member of Alpha Chapter and encouraged him to check out the university. “Probably the thing I value most from my college experience is my involvement in Epsilon Tau Pi,” he says. “Being able to share that and spread that to more Eagle Scouts is what motivates me at this point to be involved at the national level.”
Active Epsilon Tau Pi Chapters There are nine active Epsilon Tau Pi chapters in the U.S. To join one or learn about starting a chapter at a school near you, visit epsilontaupi.org University of Dayton (Dayton, Ohio) The Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio) Western Carolina University (Cullowhee, N.C.) West Virginia University (Morgantown, W.Va.) Appalachian State University (Boone, N.C.) Georgia Southern University (Statesboro, Ga.) Robert Morris University (Moon Township, Pa.) Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.) Missouri Western State University (St. Joseph, Mo.)
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MEMBERS // World Explorers / NESA Committee Spotlight / National Jamboree
World Explorers Program Update Visit NESA at
In 2016, Eagle Scout participants helped map areas of Mammoth Cave in Kentucky (top) and study green sea turtles in the Galápagos Islands.
Four locations this year are repeats: the Tiputini Biodiversity Station in Ecuador; the Galápagos Islands off South America; Mammoth Cave in Kentucky; and Johannesburg, South Africa, where two Eagle Scouts will work with world-renowned paleoanthropologist and Distinguished Eagle Scout Dr. Lee Berger. New this year will be a program in Yellowstone National Park working with NASA’s astrobiology program and a separate program in Wyoming working with the Judith River Dinosaur Institute. 4
Dr. Michael Manyak, who created and oversees the program, says adding domestic destinations like those should increase opportunities for BSA regions to get involved. “They can have a direct relationship with these programs and not view them as big national programs that local guys will never have a chance to get into.” And getting into these programs can help launch a career. “In all cases, it’s reinforced [participants’] interest in the different field sciences, and in some cases, it has absolutely cemented the course for their career,” Manyak says. One previous participant, for example, is now studying curatorial science and has contributed to a companion book to the Natural History Museum’s upcoming exhibit “Narwhal: Revealing an Arctic Legend.” Manyak is continually impressed with both the volume and the quality of applicants for the World Explorers Program. “I would send all of them somewhere if I could. They’re all so qualified,” he says.
NESA Committee Spotlight: Three Harbors Council, Milwaukee, Wis.
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he product of a 2011 merger, the Three Harbors Council serves about 25,000 Scouts in Racine, Kenosha and Milwaukee counties in southeastern Wisconsin. One of the new council’s first pri-
The National Jamboree
The 2017 National Jamboree is almost here, and you can keep up with NESA’s Jamboree presence both onsite and online. If you’ll be a participant or visitor, just stop by the NESA tent in the Summit Center when you’re not zip lining, BMX riding, bouldering, shopping or patch trading. Note that visitors must purchase a day visitor pass to access the Jamboree site. Complete details, including costs and hours, are at bsajamboree.org To follow the action online from home, visit the NESA Facebook page. There you’ll find frequent updates from the Jamboree, including photos, videos and more.
orities after its founding was forming NESA and alumni committees, something neither predecessor council had. The NESA committee, chaired by Lee Kammerer, runs a number of ongoing programs designed to re-engage adult Eagle Scouts. One of the most popular, run in conjunction with the alumni committee, is Scouting Alumni Night at Simmons Field, where numerous alumni attend a baseball game between the Kenosha Kingfish and another team from the Northwoods League, a 20-team league made up of college players. The committee also holds frequent NESA After Five networking events at clubs and restaurants in the council’s three main cities. Because it can take an hour or more to drive the length of the council, Kammerer stressed the importance of spreading around events. Committee members promote the Scouting Alumni Association and NESA
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: COURTESY OF SAMUEL HUANG; COURTESY OF DEREK VON NIEDA; BSA FILE PHOTO
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f you’re in an airport this summer and come across a young Eagle Scout with a farmer’s tan, dirt under his fingernails and a big smile on his face, he might just be heading home from a NESA World Explorers Program expedition. This summer, NESA is sending 14 Eagle Scouts to six locations on three continents to work side by side with researchers in the field.
EAGLES’ CALL
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Museum / Scouting Alumni Association // MEMBERS
at the Wisconsin State Fair and major council events, including camporees, Scouting at the Zoo and the council recognition dinner. For the latter event, the committee’s main role is to recruit adult sponsors for the new class of Eagle Scouts, who are recognized during the dinner. “When you see people haven’t been involved in a while and they’re at the dinner and they’re talking to these young men, I think they get re-inspired about what it means to be an Eagle Scout,” Kammerer says.
Museum on The Move
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he National Scouting Museum is moving from Irving, Texas, to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. A small temporary exhibit is now open at camping headquarters; by next summer, the museum will be part of a complex that also includes the Philmont Museum – Seton Memorial Library.
RECONNECT AND REAP SAVINGS
Are you a Scouting alumnus? Whether you were a Scout as a youth or are currently involved in Scouting as a registered adult volunteer, you qualify as a Scouting Alumni Association member. Registration is free, but if you spring for the Pathfinder level membership ($35), you gain access to special discounts, including: A one-time 10 percent discount at Scout shops or scoutstuff.org 15 percent off oil changes at Firestone Complete Auto Care 40 percent off any regularly priced pizza at Papa John’s Pizza Register at scouting.org/alumni
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: COURTESY OF SAMUEL HUANG; COURTESY OF DEREK VON NIEDA; BSA FILE PHOTO
EAGLE PROJECTS
Despite a busy schedule of events, the committee has no budget. To raise money and awareness, Kammerer and fellow committee member Rick Seeger recently won approval for two Scouting Alumni license plates through the Wisconsin Division of Motor Vehicles. Proceeds from plate sales will benefit all the BSA councils located in the state, not just Three Harbors Council. “On March 30 of last year, we watched Gov. Scott Walker — who happens to be an Eagle Scout and a Distinguished Eagle Scout Award recipient — sign our bill,” Kammerer says. One plate design features the BSA logo. The other has the Eagle Scout medal. Both, however, say “Scouting Alumni” at the bottom. “We want people who were Scouts, who were and are Scouters, family members, volunteers, community people — anybody who was positively influenced by the Boy Scouts — to feel welcome to buy this license plate,” Kammerer says.
Distinguished Eagle Scout Rick Bragga, who chairs the Museum Committee, says the move grew out of a 2016 task force that determined the current museum was not using its artifacts and art as well as it could. “We want to more efficiently and effectively utilize our collections, both fine art and Scouting memorabilia, to promote and advance the BSA,” he says. As the museum study was going on, Philmont already was making plans to triple the size of its existing museum. That timing made Philmont a logical destination, as did the fact that Scouting’s largest highadventure base draws 40,000 to 50,000 visitors each year from all 50 states, something previous museum sites never accomplished. But the museum won’t just attract Scouting visitors. Eagle Scout Mark Anderson, Philmont’s director of program, notes 2021 will mark the 200th anniversary of the Santa Fe Trail, which runs through Philmont. “We’re already seeing an increased number of people following the trail,” he says.
Lasting Legacy Support the Philmont Museum – Seton Memorial Library expansion that will result in The Philmont Educational Center, new home to memorabilia of the National Scouting Museum, by purchasing a brick to be placed in the Trail of Our Founders Plaza. Find more on how to customize a brick at philmontscoutranch.org/bricks
Have you added your Eagle Scout service project to the new national database at eagleprojects.boyslife.org? Share a description, photos and more to help inspire future Eagle Scouts as they plan their own projects.
NESA LEGACY SOCIETY MEMBERS Toby Capps Chief Seattle Council Robert P. Duff Dan Beard Council Eric Neff Voyageurs Area Council James R. Poueymirou Pathway to Adventure Council Dr. David Howard Sirken Cradle of Liberty Council David C. Whitney Greater St. Louis Area Council
JOIN THE NESA LEGACY SOCIETY
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 first 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 certificate, a pin to wear on the James E. West knot and name recognition in the pages of Eagles’ Call magazine.
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COMMUNITY // Eagle Scout Projects
Proud as a Peacock Southern Region Adams Award Winner Pays Tribute to a Former Classmate.
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FINDING A FOUNTAIN: Through a Google search, John Michael found the perfect fountain — a limited-edition bronze by British sculptor Lloyd Le Blanc. There was just one problem: The fountain cost $50,000. John Michael talked with his parents and Eagle advisor, and decided to move forward, anyway.
Florida Eagle Scout John Michael Thomas raised money and called upon volunteers to dedicate a bronze fountain in memory of a classmate who died from a brain tumor.
The city commission of Winter Park, Fla., approved Eagle Scout John Michael Thomas’ plans to place a memorial in the carefully maintained Central Park rose garden. Volunteers dug up and transplanted existing rose bushes to make room for the fountain honoring John Michael’s classmate, Elizabeth Buckley.
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RAISING 50 GRAND: To raise the money, John Michael coordinated more than 30 fundraising projects between May and November. They included receptions in private homes, lemonade stands, bake sales and dress-down days at several schools, including St. Margaret Mary Elementary School, which John Michael and Elizabeth had attended. The largest donation was $1,000, and the smallest was $1.63 from a child at St. Margaret Mary.
ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY: As word spread, groups across Winter Park got involved. Peter Brook Chocolatier made peacock pops and donated a portion of sales. The grandmother of a first-grader raised $700 selling homemade scarves. A shop called Apple and Ivey’s sold neckties, bowties, pins and necklaces, and donated 100 percent of the profits. FROM MONEY TO MANPOWER: In October 2014, members of Troop 62 descended on
FROM LEFT: COURTESY OF THE THOMAS FAMILY (5); U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY STAFF SGT. KATIE GRAY; COURTESY OF THE KNEALE FAMILY; COURTESY OF THE LANICH FAMILY
lizabeth Buckley adored peacocks, and when she died at age 13 in 2012 from an inoperable brain tumor, her love of that colorful bird was on the mind of Eagle Scout John Michael Thomas. The Winter Park, Fla., resident said his friend and classmate “used to wear peacock headbands to school all the time. She painted a peacock wearing a Santa hat and won a competition.” John Michael decided to honor Elizabeth’s life by installing a peacock fountain in a local park. The fountain was dedicated Dec. 18, 2014.
EAGLES’ CALL
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Eagle Scout Projects // COMMUNITY Central Park in Winter Park to transplant rose bushes and prepare the site. The fountain arrived later that month, and contractors went to work. By December, everything was ready.
FROM LEFT: COURTESY OF THE THOMAS FAMILY (5); U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY STAFF SGT. KATIE GRAY; COURTESY OF THE KNEALE FAMILY; COURTESY OF THE LANICH FAMILY
DEDICATION DAY: More than 500 people attended the dedication ceremony, where John Michael, Elizabeth’s family and local dignitaries spoke. But perhaps the real dedication occurred on New Year’s Eve — the anniversary of Elizabeth’s death — when John Michael and his family visited the fountain. As they danced to “Shooting Star” by Owl City, several couples joined them, celebrating new beginnings and precious memories. “It was quite spectacular,” John Michael says.
Playing Santa New York Project Repays a Decade-Old Debt.
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s any parent can tell you, Santa Claus gets credit for a lot of gifts he neither builds in his workshop nor delivers in his sleigh. That was certainly the case last December when the jolly old man presented 50 new bicycles to children of deployed soldiers from New York. In this case, Santa handled the presentation — at a Christmas party hosted by the 369th Sustainment Brigade’s Family Readiness Group — but 14-year-old James Seagriff did everything else. For his Eagle Scout project, the Staten Island resident raised $2,700 to purchase the bikes, which he and his fellow Scouts assembled several weeks before the party. He was also on hand to match kids with bikes and give impromptu riding lessons. James began planning his project in December 2015, but the idea actually dates back a decade. Not long after his father, Maj. Ian Seagriff, returned from an 18-month overseas deployment, 4-year-old James received a bike at a similar event for military families. “I remember going to a Christmas party, and they gave me a bike,” he says. “It just made me happy when there were a lot of days where I was upset because my dad wasn’t home.” Scouts in Troop 37 typically do their Eagle projects in area parks, but James’ dad says he
OTHER NOTABLE EAGLE PROJECTS
JOSHUA ALAN KNEALE, BAKERSFIELD, CALIF.
On his way to earning the Citizenship in the Community merit badge, Josh Kneale distributed food to homeless people. He realized homeless people need basic items like soap and sunscreen, too. For his Eagle project, Josh supported the Mission at Kern County by assembling 500 care kits. Each contained a dozen or so items, including toothpaste, a comb, razor and, yes, soap and sunscreen. Josh set up an assembly line in his garage, and his troop devoted a Tuesday meeting to distributing the kits. That evening, Josh overheard a couple of homeless men talking about the kits they’d received. One man said the soap must have been really expensive since it was so good. It had cost Josh $1 at Dollar Tree. “They had nothing. Just getting a $1 bottle of soap meant so much to them,” Josh says.
Eagle Scout James Seagriff stands with members of the New York Army National Guard’s 369th Sustainment Brigade.
wanted to do something different. “A unit that my friend was in was notified and had begun their train-up to get ready to deploy,” he says. “That’s kind of when it came to James: ‘Could we do something like this?’ ” He could and did. After spending many afternoons soliciting donations from local businesses, James had enough money to buy 50 bikes from Walmart. In late October, he held a build day and then waited for the big party. So how did the kids like their new bikes? “They went crazy,” James says. “It was great.” “This project was probably out of the comfort zone for himself and for the troop,” his dad says. “It was a project that maybe only benefited a small group in the community, but a group that truly appreciates and will look back at this and say, ‘Wow, whatever our sacrifices are, there are people who appreciate what we do.’ ”
KEVIN C. LANICH, SOMERVILLE, OHIO
Housed in a 19th-century Masonic hall, the Veterans Memorial Museum displays tens of thousands of relics spanning from the American Revolution to the ongoing war on terror. Thanks to Kevin Lanich’s Eagle project, the Germantown, Ohio, museum boasts a renovated 1,600-square-foot wing to display its 18th- and 19th-century collections. Many of Kevin’s relatives are veterans, so the project was especially appropriate. “The Boy Scout slogan is ‘Do a Good Turn Daily,’ and I feel that our veterans embrace the slogan every day in their service to our country,” he says. Kevin embraces the slogan, as well. All told, his project took 973 hours. He installed new flooring, stained doors and trim, built a wheelchair ramp and coordinated electrical work. “Every time I enter the room, I am filled with a sense of pride, humbleness and thankfulness for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that God made possible for me to be a small part of,” he says.
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LIFESTYLE // Mark Mahan
From Wall Street to the Surgical Suite
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he Sept. 11 terrorist attacks claimed 2,753 lives in New York and upended the lives of countless first responders, survivors, loved ones and other innocent bystanders. Among those affected was Mark Mahan, who, at the time, was a 25-year-old investment banker for Deutsche Bank. Mahan is a second-generation Eagle Scout from Tulsa, where the tallest buildings were less than half the height of the Twin Towers. Before 9/11, he often marveled at the tall, slender structures next door to his Manhattan office. Like all of us, he was shocked to the core when the buildings fell. He was 40 blocks away at the time.
profit, signing up with Teach for America — but in true Scout fashion, he chose the toughest: medical school. It helped that he’d earned a degree in molecular biology from Princeton University before heading to Wall Street, but it also helped that Scouting had taught him to always Be Prepared. He says it was Scouting’s focus on emergency preparedness that nudged him toward medicine. Once he was in, he was all in. Thanks to his background in biology and plenty of latenight study sessions after long days at the bank, he was accepted to the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He earned
Dr. Mark Mahan in the operating room and with his family, including his wife, Stacey, and sons, Wesley and Shaler.
As he watched the aftermath of the tragedy, Mahan quickly realized how meaningless his career was — even that six-figure salary. “Outside the rarefied world of corporate finance, your skills are useless,” he says. He began reflecting on the values he’d learned in Scouting — selflessness and kindness among them — that he didn’t often find in his career. “All those core bedrock values that you said every Monday night for six, seven years, you kind of know those are your North Star, what you should follow,” he says. Within a week of 9/11, Mahan decided a career change was in order. “It wasn’t instantaneous; I don’t think any life decision should be instantaneous, but it was about a week of soulsearching and anxiety and concern,” he says. He could have chosen a number of paths — becoming an EMT, working for a non8
his medical degree from Columbia in 2007 and completed fellowships in neurosurgery at the Mayo Clinic and the University of California San Diego, and a residency at the Barrow Neurological Institute. In 2014, he joined the University of Utah as a neurosurgeon and assistant professor of neurosurgery. Mahan’s fascination with neurology sprang from his initial encounter with the human brain. “The first time you see a living brain in front of you, it’s beautiful,” he says. “It’s really one of the most awe-inspiring moments in one’s life. You’re forever changed by that.” He actually doesn’t look at brains all that often these days. Instead, he focuses on the spine and peripheral nerves. “The way I’ve sub-specialized, there’s no one in the Intermountain West that really does what I do,” he says. “Basically, from Kansas to California, I’m the person who does what I do.”
Mahan says his patients come in all ages and sizes. “I have patients where the injury occurs at birth — that’s not uncommon — and then I have patients 80-plus with injuries,” he says. A typical case would be someone who fell off a motorcycle and damaged the nerves in his arm. While the arm is healthy, the nerves no longer function. “That’s my task: trying to rewire and fix things,” he says. As you might expect, Mahan’s work, which he does under a microscope, is quite meticulous. Twelve-hour surgeries are possible, and he sometimes forgets to swallow or even breathe. “Imagine staring at something in total rapt concentration,” he says. “You forget to swallow, and all of a sudden you breathe and all you’re doing is just aspirating your own saliva that’s built up in your mouth.” At the same time, he says, he has to remember he’s the leader, a skill he learned at Philmont Scout Ranch. “In surgery, you’re the leader; you have one responsibility,” he says. “Other people have jobs within that responsibility, but it’s still your responsibility.” Given his specialty, it’s no surprise that Mahan stays quite busy, but he still finds time to teach at the University of Utah, contribute to medical textbooks and publish in peer-reviewed journals. If you want to know about segmental thoracic lipomatosis of nerves, he’s your man. Mahan also finds time to spend with his wife, Stacey, a New York City ballerina who now works for Ballet West in Salt Lake City, and sons, Shaler and Wesley. Shaler is a new Cub Scout, so Mahan is reliving some of his Scouting experiences through him. “This past Christmas, I had a medical conference in Germany, and I brought back a Swiss Army knife for him,” Mahan says. “Then we did soap carving, just like I remember carving on Ivory soap when I was a kid.” Mahan loves his work, but he’s quick to argue it’s not true heroism — nothing like rushing into a burning building on a pictureperfect September morning. Regardless, there’s no doubt what he’s doing now is the embodiment of the Scout slogan: “to help other people at all times.”
UNIVERSITY OF UTAH (2); COURTESY OF THE MAHAN FAMILY
One Eagle Scout’s Post-9/11 Journey.
EAGLES’ CALL
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Cadet Outdoor Leadership Experience // LIFESTYLE
Eagles (and Others) at Philmont Scout Ranch
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n the summer of 1972, 47 cadets from the U.S. Air Force Academy — all but one of them Eagle Scouts — traveled 200 miles south to Philmont Scout Ranch. Their mission: to serve three-week stints on the Philmont staff and, in doing so, put into practice the leadership skills they’d been learning at the academy. Forty-five years later, the Cadet Outdoor Leadership Experience program, as it’s now known, is still going strong, although it’s no longer limited to former Scouts or male cadets. This winter, officials from Philmont and the academy signed a memorandum of agreement that should ensure the program’s continuation for at least another 45 years. (Philmont has similar, newer programs with the U.S. Military Academy and U.S. Naval Academy.) So what is the program, and how does it work? We spoke with Eagle Scout Bryce O’Connell, the cadet in charge of the program last summer. (A native of Edmond, Okla., O’Connell visited Philmont twice as a Scout.) O’Connell says summers at the academy are divided into three three-week blocks. Cadets can use one block for vacation, but
they’re required to be involved in leadership activities during the other two blocks. That could mean helping lead cadet basic training, working in air operations, serving on the wing leadership team that oversees all the summer programs or working at Philmont. During each block, 10 cadets and one cadet in charge spend three weeks in Philmont’s ranger program. After an intense period of training, the rangers work with three or four crews before their time runs out. Eagle Scout Mark Anderson, Philmont’s director of program, sees the program as a great recruiting tool for the military. “A crew spends three days with an academy
cadet as their ranger,” he says. “It’s a way of outreach for people from across the country to get to know academy cadets or midshipmen — potentially a recruiting tool for them.” At the same time, each cadet gets a sense of what it’s like to work with civilians who don’t have to follow their orders — and to work without a safety net like at the academy. Roughly 100 cadets apply for the 30 firsttime ranger slots each year, and virtually all who serve apply to return as cadets in charge the following summer. Only three get that opportunity, and O’Connell says most of the rest end up in top-tier roles with survival training. “We now have 27 other advocates for the program to recruit more and take their skills they’ve learned at Philmont and give back to the cadet wing, which I think honestly is the most valuable thing those cadets can offer,” he says. As for O’Connell, he decided to spend some of his post-graduation leave this summer at Philmont, where he plans to volunteer his time with the ranger department. “Give me a place to sleep and give me some food,” he says, “and I’ll count that as payment.”
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EAGLE MEDAL? UNIVERSITY OF UTAH (2); COURTESY OF THE MAHAN FAMILY
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nce upon a time, a singing warthog, magical nanny or dancing genie would not have been safe on 42nd Street. In the 1980s and early ’90s, this stretch of Manhattan near Times Square was home to all sorts of characters: “drifters, drug sellers and sex entrepreneurs and their customers,” according to The New York Times Magazine. And then Disney showed up. In 1993, Disney purchased the centerpiece of 42nd Street: the New Amsterdam Theatre. The building opened in 1903 and hosted Ziegfeld Follies and other live shows for more than three decades. It had been vacant for years, a crumbling shell left standing because of its protected status on the National Register of Historic Places. Disney sought someone who could transform this theater — and, perhaps, all of Times Square — from a place families actively avoided into a tourist destination. They found just the guy to make that happen: Distinguished Eagle Scout Dana Amendola. With his help, the theater, which hadn’t staged a musical since the 1930s, reopened with a roar in 1997 with The Lion King. Disney Theatrical was born.
STEP IN TIME
Amendola is vice president of operations for Disney Theatrical Group. In addition to restoring worn-down theaters, he runs the day-to-day theater operations for all of Disney’s Broadway shows. That means he’s in charge of pretty much everything that happens in Disney’s theaters except the shows themselves. The Disney on Broadway experience, Amendola says, begins not when the curtain opens but when you walk in the front doors. “We really were trying to reinvent the
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Take a Distinguished Eagle Scout brings sparkle to Disney’s Broadway stages. By Bryan Wendell / Photograph by W. Garth Dowling
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“It always would bother me if the campfire wasn’t put together correctly,” he says. “I was the guy that was always playing with pyrotechnics for certain things. ‘Let’s make the campfire bigger’ and all this.”
whole Broadway experience, to make it a pleasant, more inviting experience not only for children but for seniors and couples and families and everybody else,” he says. “I really wanted to change the way someone came to theater.” Aladdin and The Lion King are Disney’s two current Broadway shows. Frozen is set to open next year. In his 20-plus years with Disney, Amendola also has worked on Beauty and the Beast, King David, Aida, Mary Poppins, Tarzan, The Little Mermaid and Newsies. During Amendola’s time with the company, Disney has outgrown Broadway and has staged live shows on six continents. Amendola jokes that someday “there’ll be some weather station in the Antarctic where we will open a touring show.” 12
CIRCLE OF LIFE
To Amendola, the path to a career is like the hike to a campsite. Sometimes you get there by following a trail. Other times you take a circuitous route. Amendola’s path to Disney was the latter. He started as a “painfully shy kid” — an only child whose family traveled a lot. He says he was 4 or 5 before he spent any time with another kid his age. Scouting was just what he needed to step out of the wings. “I found a place where I felt very safe,” he says. Everyone was welcome in Troop 138 of Braintree, Mass. The captain of the football team, the president of the debate club, the artists and the brainiacs all were members. Amendola carved out a niche as the troop’s king of campfires.
“It always would bother me if the campfire wasn’t put together correctly,” he says. “I was the guy that was always playing with pyrotechnics for certain things. ‘Let’s make the campfire bigger’ and all this.” But as much as he liked putting on a show, Amendola didn’t see a career there. As a teenager, he was sure he’d become a lawyer. And then he began working on the Law merit badge, and everything changed. “I figured out I don’t want to do this,” he says. “This is terribly boring.” In college at Franklin & Marshall in Lancaster, Pa., Amendola started spending more and more time in the theater. “College was a lot of pressure, especially during finals. Everyone I saw looked absolutely miserable, except those auditioning with the college theater program, so I
W. GARTH DOWLING; COURTESY OF THE AMENDOLA FAMILY (3)
Much of the magic of The Lion King, which opened at the restored New Amsterdam Theatre in 1997, involves the puppetry. Amendola’s favorite is the intricately detailed mask of Scar, the show’s villain.
EAGLES’ CALL
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The New Amsterdam Theatre on 42nd Street opened in 1903 and hosted Ziegfeld Follies for many years. It was crumbling and vacant when Disney bought it in 1995.
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figured, ‘well, I’m going to try that’ ” — but eventually he realized his skills had an application beyond troop campfires. He graduated from Franklin & Marshall in 1982 and got a master’s in theater from Villanova in 1984. Next he took a job with the 3,000-seat Valley Forge Music Fair before Disney invited him to join its new venture.
W. GARTH DOWLING; COURTESY OF THE AMENDOLA FAMILY (3)
DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH
There were mushrooms everywhere — some the size of dinner plates. The steel was so deteriorated that Amendola could stick a finger through it. The bottom floor festered in two feet of water. Where others wading into the New Amsterdam Theatre might have seen a lost cause, Amendola saw a treasure beneath those chocolate-brown walls. “This theater had a certain magic to it,” he says. “It was sitting here since 1903 in terrible shape, but it still retained a lot of its former glory and beauty. And a good restorer knows ‘that’s something you can build on.’ ” The theater’s protected status meant everything had to be faithful to 1903, so Amendola and his crew were meticulous.
They pored over old photographs, sketches and even descriptions written in patrons’ journals. The result is breathtaking. Most striking are the sculpted flowers sprouting from walls the color of brick red, sage green and mustard yellow. Audience members are transported to another time and place before the curtain even opens on Act 1. Just as remarkable was the transformation outside. Disney had driven away the drug dealers and X-rated movie parlors. It was safe for the theater-going public to return to 42nd Street. The Lion King ran for a decade before moving to its current home at the Minskoff Theatre. Mary Poppins swooped in to the New Amsterdam next, followed by its current tenant: Aladdin. Disney Theatrical’s next adaptation of a hit animated film will be Frozen, and Amendola is already hard at work revamping the St. James Theatre experience to accommodate a new audience. Like The Lion King, which added new songs and plot elements for Broadway, the Frozen musical won’t be an exact replica of the movie. Good thing, because nobody wants to see the movie projected on stage — not at Broadway prices of $57 to $150 or more per ticket. Amendola couldn’t say much about Frozen, which opens in Denver this summer before moving to Broadway next year. But he did promise something “extremely fresh and creative.”
A FRIEND LIKE ME
Amendola’s other job is as Scoutmaster of Troop 97 in New City, N.Y. While Troop 97 does a lot of the typical Boy Scout things — hikes, backpacking, camporees and a trip to Valley Forge — Amendola’s day job affords the Scouts some exclusive perks. In 2014, 12 Scouts from Amendola’s troop were working on the Theater merit badge. Amendola approached his boss, Thomas Schumacher, with an idea. Rehearsals for Aladdin were underway, and Amendola thought the Scouts would enjoy sitting in. “He goes, ‘Well, you know, Disney is very protective of our intellectual property.
Amendola’s son, Marco, is an Eagle Scout, too. Among their Scouting highlights with Troop 97: a sailing trip off the coast of Maine (top and bottom photos) and a 20-mile hike along the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail in Ulster County, N.Y., near Poughkeepsie.
We really don’t want anyone to sneak in and see the magic beforehand. But since a Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind … ’ Until that moment, I had never realized my boss was a Boy Scout,” Amendola says. “And so, of course, he brought the Scouts in. Not only that, but he sat them right down front and introduced them to the actors. He was so gracious.” But the Scouts weren’t the only beneficiaries. The cast, which had been rehearsing for months without a live audience, finally could perform in front of real people. “So 12 guys from a Boy Scout troop were the very first audience that saw Aladdin,” Amendola says. “They didn’t give away any of the secrets. But some of the things they laughed at are still in the show.”
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“We hold ourselves to a high moral standard with virtue at our core. This standard continues to be the key driver of our success.”
Eagle Scout brothers Taylor (left) and Brooks Dame help dad, Kelly, with the daily operations of running Woodgrain Millwork in Fruitland, Idaho.
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STRONG By Mark Ray / Photographs by W. Garth Dowling
ROOTS The Pinewood Derby Journey Begins at This Eagle-Owned Mill
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oodgrain Millwork makes all sorts of building products, including doors, windows and moldings, but its most important product — at least as far as the average Cub Scout is concerned — is the wood that goes into every official Pinewood Derby car kit in America. During the past five years, the Fruitland, Idaho-based company has churned out nearly 6 million blocks of pine. Add a pocketknife, wheels, a coat of paint and some imagination, and those blocks become champion racers in church basements and school cafeterias across the country. Eagle Scout Kelly Dame, Woodgrain’s president and CEO, knows all about making Pinewood Derby cars. Years ago, he helped each of his five sons build their own cars, just as he helped all of them achieve Boy Scouting’s highest rank. “To have the opportunity to be able to provide the wood that goes into Pinewood Derby cars is a thrill; it’s an honor and it’s something that our family takes a lot of pride in,” he says. And that pride extends beyond the Dame family. Woodgrain employs at least 12 Eagle Scouts at its Fruitland headquarters, including its human resources director and controller.
BIRDS OF A FEATHER
As an Eagle Scout, you’ve probably heard somewhere along the way that it’s a good idea to list that accomplishment on your résumé. If you’re applying for a job at Woodgrain, it’s a very good idea, because company officials always give the résumés of Eagle Scouts a second glance. “When we get those, a red light goes off because it’s an easier sell,” says Kelly’s son, Brooks, who is director of sales for
the company’s Millwork Group. “We want to pull those people on the team because their values really line up with our culture and our corporate values as a company.” One of those values, Kelly says, is servant leadership. “The Boy Scouts is all about service and service projects and Eagle Scout projects,” he says. “And I think that these men that work here … come with that ability to understand what servant leadership means when we talk about it.”
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“Sustainability is really important and a big part of what we do, and we think that value lines up really perfectly with Scouting.”
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The process of turning 40-foot pine trees into the wood blocks found in Pinewood Derby kits involves both machines and men. At Woodgrain Millwork, at least 12 Eagle Scouts help oversee the process, which involves cutting and smoothing the large boards into rectangles. The blocks must pass quality control before shipping off to Logan Industries in South Bend, Ind., where they are boxed into Pinewood Derby car kits.
FROM TREE TO TRACK
A Pinewood Derby car’s journey to the winner’s circle begins when a 40-foot ponderosa pine trunk arrives at Woodgrain’s mill in Emmett, Idaho. After milling, the wood travels to the Fruitland plant, where it is — literally — cut down to size. Blocks
COURTESY OF THE DAME FAMILY
In fact, Eagle Scouts probably have an inherent understanding of all five of the company’s key corporate values: integrity, servant leadership, continuous improvement, respect for people and exceeding customer expectations. Consider, for example, what the company says on its website about integrity: “We hold ourselves to a high moral standard with virtue at our core. This standard continues to be the key driver of our success.” Those words echo what The Boy Scout Handbook says about honor: “Honor is the core of who you are — your honesty, your integrity, your reputation, the ways you treat others and how you act when no one is looking.”
That commitment to integrity has driven Woodgrain’s success. Since its founding in 1954 as Dame Lumber and Moulding, the company has grown to become one of the world’s largest millwork manufacturers and suppliers, with dozens of locations and 3,000 employees spanning the globe. In addition to Pinewood Derby blocks, the company produces and sells a variety of spinoff products like fuel pellets. (More on those products later.)
EAGLES’ CALL
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COURTESY OF THE DAME FAMILY
fuel pellets and animal bedding. “About 99.9 percent of everything that comes in here goes out as a product, either as a byproduct or as a primary product like the Pinewood Derby cars,” Brooks says. “Sustainability is really important and a big part of what we do, and we think that value lines up really perfectly with Scouting.” Dame recalls the customer who compared Woodgrain’s operations to how Native Americans once used natural resources: “He said, ‘The Native Americans, when they hunted buffalo, they used the tongue, they used the horn, they used the foot, they used everything. That’s kind of what you guys are doing here.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I kind of like that analogy.’ ” But perhaps a Scouting analogy would be more appropriate. After all, the ninth point of the Scout Law says a Scout is thrifty.
measure 7 inches long by 1.75 inches wide by 1.25 inches tall. Depending on the size of the trunk, Brooks estimates each one yields 250 to 500 car blocks. Once the axle grooves are cut, the blocks are boxed and loaded onto trucks for the journey to South Bend, Ind., where Logan Industries assembles the kits — adding axles, wheels, decals and instructions — under contract to Kahoot Products Inc. of Atlanta. (Kahoot Products CEO Chuck Kelderhouse says, “One of the things we’re most proud of is that, from tree to track, the Pinewood Derby kit is all made in America.”) Back in Fruitland, the work is not done. To produce 6 million blocks of wood, you go through a lot of trees and generate a lot of sawdust. That’s where Woodgrain’s commitment to the environment comes into play. “At Woodgrain, we really believe in sustainability,” Brooks says. “Wood is a natural resource as long as you make sure that you’re taking care of it, replanting it and managing your forest.” What’s more, the company captures shavings, sawdust and waste wood for use in its Nature’s line of residual products like
ON THE WEB
TAKE A TOUR and meet some of the Eagles who run Woodgrain Millwork in an exclusive video at nesa.org
FIVE FOR FIVE At one time or another, all five Dame sons have worked at Woodgrain, although just three are there now. Brooks is director of sales, Todd serves as vice president of national accounts (based in Atlanta) and Taylor is manager of residuals. Ryan has his own real estate company in Arizona, Tanner, Brooks, Tod while Tanner runs Proof Eyewear, a d, Ryan, Kelly and Taylor Dame. business Brooks started in his garage and where he and Taylor work on the side. (Kelly’s brother, Reed, a Life Scout, is Woodgrain’s former chairman; he has two Eagle Scout sons, including Spencer, the company’s training coordinator.) While the CEO’s sons don’t see one another every day at the office, they share tight bonds that go far beyond the workplace, many of which relate to Scouting. Ryan attended the World Scout Jamboree in 1991, while the other four attended a sequence of National Jamborees at Fort A.P. Hill, Va. Most had the same Scoutmaster, Ralph Astle, in Troop 421 of Ontario, Ore. And all enjoyed adventures in the Pacific Northwest’s many national parks and wilderness areas. “Two or three days a week, we were involved in Scouting in some way, shape or form,” Brooks says. Kelly, meanwhile, attended the 1969 National Scout Jamboree, where he remembers watching the first moon landing on a tiny black-and-white television. He has served Scouting in many ways over the years, including as council president for the Ore-Ida Council. His wife, Evelyn, was a den leader when the boys were young and has sewn on far more than her fair share of merit badges. “Scouting’s been an integral part of our family, and I think that what me and my boys have learned through Scouting has blessed our lives,” Kelly says. As his sons were growing up, Kelly created a set of goals he called Five for Five and challenged each son to do five things: finish four years of seminary training in the LDS church, become an Eagle Scout, go on an LDS mission, earn a college degree and get married in the LDS temple. “I’d read some statistics that if a young man went through four years of seminary and got his Eagle Scout, that 90 percent of them went on missions,” he says. Not surprisingly, all five accomplished those five goals. Today, the Dames have a second home in the mountains, an area the boys grew to love through Scouting. Above the mantel is a picture of Kelly and his sons wearing their Scout uniforms. “It reminds the boys that they got their Eagle Scout, that they did something special, something to be proud of,” he says.
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ACHIEVEMENTS // For God and Country
For God and Country
Many 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
Ensign Cole Adams U.S. Coast Guard
2nd Lt. Lucas W. Hash U.S. Air Force
Lance Cpl. Daniel C. Pengra U.S. Marine Corps
Graduated from Texas State University with a bachelor’s in business administration. After completing Officers Candidate School at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, he was commissioned as an ensign and will be stationed in Astoria, Ore. He will serve as a deck watch officer aboard 210-foot USCG cutter Steadfast.
Graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s in aerospace engineering and mechanics, and was commissioned in May 2016. He is stationed at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., with the 50th Space Wing as a program manager.
Graduated from Marine Corps boot camp at San Diego, Calif. Currently stationed in Yuma, Ariz.
Pfc. Brendan R. Beebe U.S. Marine Corps Graduated boot camp at the Marine Corps Recruit Training Depot, Parris Island, S.C., and is currently in Twentynine Palms, Calif., for job training. Nominated for Vigil Honor in the Order of the Arrow in August 2016.
Lt. Comm. Michael Carman U.S. Coast Guard Graduated U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 2011 and flight school in 2013. Presently stationed at Barbers Point, Hawaii, flying C-130 Hercules.
Cmdr. Todd I. Ladwig U.S. Navy Took command of the Navy’s Electronic Attack Squadron 138 based in Washington. The VAQ-138 Yellow Jackets are charged with projecting electronic attack dominance anywhere in the world with combat-ready EA-18G Growler.
2nd Lt. Daniel Long U.S. Air Force Commissioned as a second lieutenant upon graduation from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the U.S. Air Force ROTC program in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering. Stationed in Sacramento, Calif.
Lt. Col. Adrian G. Driscoll U.S. Army Reserve
Cadet 3rd Class Garrett S. Magill U.S. Coast Guard
Retired in 2015 after 28 years of service as an Army Reserve Judge Advocate. In civilian life, Driscoll is a senior counsel with the law firm of Murphy Pearson Bradley & Feeney in San Francisco, Calif.
Majoring in naval architecture and marine engineering at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. He competes on the academy’s intercollegiate soccer team.
Capt. (Dr.) William Glen Goncharow U.S. Air Force
Cpl. Gunnar Ian Naughton U.S. Marine Corps
Selected as the U.S. Air Force Thunderbird No. 9 Flight Surgeon. He provides primary care for a 130-person squadron and their families, in addition to ensuring the health and fitness of eight demonstration pilots. He flies as an active aircrew member and oversees base emergency response and medical safety for approximately 11,000 active-duty military members and 2,000 government employees. He is stationed at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.
Meritoriously promoted to corporal in March 2016. Naughton is a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense specialist with an additional specialty as a combat marksmanship coach. He serves in the Identification and Detection Platoon, Reaction Force company, Chemical Biological Incident Response Force, U.S. Marine Forces Command. As his battalion’s Marine of the Quarter, he was the honor graduate of the Staff Noncommissioned Officer Academy corporals course class 639-16.
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2nd Lt. Tyler D. Stankye U.S. Army Received his commission as a second lieutenant after graduating cum laude from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he earned a bachelor’s in business administration. He will be stationed at Fort Benning, Ga., for officer training.
1st Lt. W. Alexander Tonnesen U.S. Air Force Graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in biology. Stationed at Hickam/Pearl Harbor. Named 2016 Command Officer of the year for his squadron.
2nd Lt. Adam Valle U.S. Air Force Graduated magna cum laude from Auburn University with a bachelor’s in business administration and professional flight management. Commissioned in 2015 as a second lieutenant at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala. Earned his pilot wings at UPT in Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi, and received the Distinguished Graduate Award. Completed C-130 pilot training at Little Rock Air Force Base. Assigned to the 357th Airlift Squadron, Maxwell Air Force Base.
Cpl. Matthew P. Wanner U.S. Marine Corps Completed Basic Training at MCRD San Diego. Received his MOS training at Camp Lejeune as an electrician. Completed MSG school at Quantico. Stationed in northern Africa.
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Once an Eagle ... / Awards & Recognition // ACHIEVEMENTS
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. Dr. Erik Aanestad, 52 Pomeroy, Ohio Eagle: 1974 Passed: June 2015 Richard H. Beddow, 84 Springfield, Mass. Eagle: 1944 Passed: January 2017 Dr. Theodore “Ted” Castele, 87 Cleveland, Ohio Eagle: 1943 Passed: August 2015 Robert Donaldson, 29 Okemos, Mich. Eagle: 2005 Passed: October 2016 John Smith Ellison, 92 Monticello, Minn. Eagle: 1941 Passed: July 2016 Jeffrey L. Farbacher, 56 Gibsonia, Pa. Eagle: 1975 Passed: February 2016 Steven Lawrence Hepburn, 52 Detroit, Mich. Eagle: 1980 Passed: September 2015 Raymond “Buck” Jones, 32 Fox Lake, Ill. Eagle: 2001 Passed: August 2016 Robert F. Kan, 86 Wilmington, Del. Eagle: 1949 Passed: December 2016 Capt. John J. Levulis (U.S. Army), 25 Eden, N.Y. Eagle: 2006 Passed: May 2015 Joseph Otero, 92 Toms River, N.J. Eagle: 1943 Passed: December 2016
Awards & Recognition Eagle 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
David J. Anthony Bethlehem, Pa. Became an ordained priest in the Diocese of Allentown.
Lowell E. Baier Potomac, Md. His book, Inside the Equal Access to Justice Act: Environmental Litigation and the Crippling Battle over America’s Lands, Endangered Species, and Critical Habitats, has been chosen as a 2016 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award finalist in the two categories of Ecology & Environment and History. Baier practices law specializing in wildlife conservation and natural resource policy, legislation and regulation, manages his commercial real estate development company and writes extensively.
Ryan R. Cahall Loveland, Ohio Graduated with a doctorate of chiropractic from Logan University in St. Louis, Mo. Graduated with a bachelor’s in health sciences and a McDonough Leadership Certificate from Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio. Cahall practices in Columbus, Ohio.
Ryan Christopher Fritz Cypress, Texas Earned a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering with honors from the University of Texas at Austin. Employed as an engineer with Total Petrochemicals in LaPorte, Texas.
Brian Gomillion Walnut Grove, Miss. Supreme Court Justice Dawn Beam swore in Gomillion, mayor of Walnut Grove, Miss., to the Mississippi Public Funds Guaranty Pool Board within the Office of the State Treasurer. The nine-member board is composed of the State Treasurer, Commissioner of Banking and Finance, five designees of the Mississippi Bankers Association, a designee of the Mississippi Municipal League and a designee of the Mississippi Supervisors Association. The board monitors compliance and requirements for member banks that pledge securities to public funds of the state of Mississippi.
Johannes Knoops New York, N.Y. Knoops’ installation, “Venice ReMapped,” was featured at Palazzo Mora as part of the international Venice Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy. In addition, the Emily Harvey Foundation afforded him a summer residency in Venice to pursue his research in urban narratives.
Dr. Tristan Jeremy Lee Decatur, Ill. Graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a doctorate in neuroscience. His dissertation research was “Mechanisms of Microtubule Polarity Organization and Roles of Microtubule Regulators in Sensory Neuron Axon Development.”
Dr. Cortland E. Mehl Stamford, Conn. Graduated from Capella University with a doctorate in business administration, specializing in global operations and supply chain management. Mehl was also inducted into the Delta Nu Delta business honor fraternity at graduation. The topic of Dr. Mehl’s dissertation was “Managing the United States Airline Pilot Shortage.”
Timothy Nelson Thornton, Colo. Graduated from Colorado State Patrol Academy. He will be assigned to the Montrose, Colo., troop.
Vincent Reda Yonkers, N.Y. Graduated summa cum laude from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., with a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice and a minor in psychology. He works as a Yonkers police officer and is also pursuing a master’s of public administration from Marist.
Stephen D. Schumacher Reno, Nev. While serving as the vice chairman of the Nevada Governor’s council on developmental disabilities and advocating for people with disabilities, Schumacher was awarded the Self-Advocate of the Year award for 2016 from the Nevada Disability Advocacy and Law Center. He is employed by Arrow Electronics.
Vince Tripi III Franklin, Wis. Graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a Master of Science in administrative leadership.
Raymond John Walton Mountain Top, Pa. Graduated from Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pa., with distinction. Awarded a Bachelor of Science in security and risk analysis – cyber security and information, science and technology.
SUMMER 2017
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ACHIEVEMENTS // Family Affair
Eagle Scouting Is a Family Affair
Scouting’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
Anderson Family Alameda, Calif.
Carr Family Northampton Township, Pa.
Fisher Family Lansing, Mich.
John Anderson (1982), Spencer Anderson (2016), Dick Anderson, Sam Anderson (2016), Toby Anderson (1985) and Jim Anderson (1977; not pictured)
Christian B. Carr (2013), Marcus E. Carr Jr. (1963) and Stephen B. Carr (2015)
Sean Fisher (2016) and Ryan Fisher (2011)
Bartz Family Beloit, Wis.
William Bartz (1980), Andrew J. Bartz (2012), Aaron M. Bartz (2012), Levi W. Bartz (2015) and Tamara K. Bartz
Bloser Family Clifton Springs, N.Y.
David C. Bloser (1971), James D. Bloser (1992), David J. Bloser (2016), Paul A. Bloser, John H. Bloser (1977)
Bussan Family Independence, Iowa
Carrico Family Crestview, Fla.
Thomas Garrett Carrico (2010) and Austin William Carrico (2014)
DeGennaro Family Monroe, N.Y.
Richard DeGennaro (1959), Frank DeGennaro (1987), Jack DeGennaro (1984) and Brent DeGennaro (2014)
De Lozier Family Duncansville, Pa.
Jay Family Owings Mills, Md.
Marshall Jay (2006), Charles Jay (1969) and Louis Jay (2005)
Johnson Family Auburn, N.Y.
Robert Johnson (2012), Matthew Johnson (2014) and Christopher Johnson (2016)
Kopec Family Snellville, Ga.
William S. Kopec (2009) and Matthew J. Kopec (2013) Alexander Bussan (2015) and Craig Bussan (1986)
Dale De Lozier (1980), Matt De Lozier (2014) and Paul De Lozier (1981)
Carlo Family Lincroft, N.J.
Filley Family The Woodlands, Texas
Landahl Family Brookfield, Ill.
James J. Landahl (2011), Anthony T. Landahl (2016) and Paul E. Landahl (2011) Matthew Carlo (2013), Joseph Carlo (2015), Christopher Carlo (2007) and Michael Carlo (2003)
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Collin B. Filley (2015), Dr. Mark “Tag” Filley (1985) and Aidan R. Filley (2015)
EAGLES’ CALL
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Family Affair // ACHIEVEMENTS
LaPolla Family Warren, Ohio
Nelsen Family Mechanicsville, Md.
Spears Family Wichita Falls, Kan.
Dr. Ken LaPolla (1980), John LaPolla (2016), Mike LaPolla (1986) and Dr. Jim LaPolla (1977)
Cole B. Nelsen (2016) and David A. Nelsen (1985)
Congressman Pete Sessions (1970), John Spears (1989), Matthew Spears (2015) and James Spears (1984)
Lentz Family Laurel, Md.
Peterson Family Kenilworth, Ill.
David Lentz (1971), Zachary Lentz (2012), Kevin Lentz (2015) and Daniel Lentz (1977)
Jeff Peterson (1989), Tom Peterson (1953), Doug Peterson (2016), Will Peterson (2016), Rick Peterson (1984) and Will Hagenah (1958)
Madison Family Alliance, Ohio
Raffensperger Family Lucketts, Va.
Dick Madison (1975), Jack Madison (2016), Bob Madison (1979), Elliott Madison (2016), Aaron Madison (2007) and Jack Madison (1971)
Kyle Raffensperger (2010), Ryan Raffensperger (2015) and Ty Raffensperger (2012)
Thrower Family San Jose, Calif.
Collin Thrower (2015) and Craig Thrower (1974)
Van Sickle Family Durham, N.C.
Michael Van Sickle (1991) and Justin M. Van Sickle (2016)
Mendelsohn Family Titusville, N.J.
Walsh-Winfrey Family Warrenville, Ill.
Ridgeway Family Long Beach, Calif.
Mike Walsh (1980), Bill Winfrey (2016), Michael Walsh (2014) and Tim Winfrey Joshua Mendelsohn (2008), Matthew Mendelsohn (2009), Jason Mendelsohn (2011), Benjamin Mendelsohn (2014) and Rich Mendelsohn
Nolan Ridgeway Lester (2016), Bill Ridgeway (1979) and Joshua Ridgeway (2016)
Wesner Family Fort Wayne, Ind.
Ross Family Chalfont, Pa.
Naasz Family Winner, S.D.
Michael Ross (2012), Christopher Ross (2015) and Kevin Ross (2010) Sam Naasz (2014), Nathan Naasz (2011), Jacob Naasz (2009) and Isaac Naasz (2015)
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Scot A. Wesner (1977), Harrison G. Wesner (2014), Mitchell J. Wesner (2015), Christopher R. Wesner (1983), Stephen J. Wesner (1953) and Robert L. Punsky (1925; deceased)
SUMMER 2017
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Become a member of the
NESA
Legacy Society Arthur Eldred was awarded the first Eagle Scout medal in 1912.
The NESA Legacy Society is the first opportunity to make a direct contribution to the national NESA endowment. The NESA endowment provides funding of Eagle Scout scholarships, service grants, and career networking and encouragement for all who wear the Eagle Scout badge. More than 5,000 scholarship applications are received each year, and more than 200 are awarded. This is in addition to NESA committee service grants, like the Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award. Fellowship in the NESA Legacy Society is open to any registered youth or adult Scouter who has been recognized as a James E. West Fellow. Contributions to the national NESA endowment should be in addition to your regular support of your council’s fundraising programs.
Join Today NESA Legacy Society members will be recognized with a unique Legacy Society certificate, a pin for uniform wear on the James E. West knot and name recognition in Eagles’ Call magazine sent to all NESA members. NESA Legacy Society pin.
nesa.org/legacy Remember, the first step to becoming a NESA Legacy Fellow is to become a James E. West Fellow in your local council. cut here
LEGACY SOCIETY APPLICATION The National Eagle Scout Association Recipient Name (as you would like it to appear on certificate)
Street Address
City
I AM THE RECIPIENT
Enclosed is my check in the amount of (minimum $1,000)
THIS IS AN ANONYMOUS GIFT I don’t want to be recognized publicly.
$
THIS IS INTENDED TO BE A GIFT presented to the recipient named at left, being made by: State
Zip
Our signatures below indicate the recipient is a James E. West Fellow and is eligible to become a NESA Legacy Society Fellow.
Council
Donor Name
Recipient/Donor
Street Address
Scout Executive
Date of James E. West Fellowship with local council
City
* For office use only. Acct.
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–
State
NESA Endowment
Zip
Please send this form and payment to: National Eagle Scout Association 1325 West Walnut Hill Lane P.O. Box 152079 Irving, TX 75015-2079
5/1/17 3:11 PM