Eagle is the seventh and highest rank a Boy Scout can get. It is so rare only 4% of Scouts ever achieve it.
One Naples teen just completed the service project to give him the coveted status.
“I think my final count is 37,” says Kieran Lucas. “No, 38. There is an additional one that I just got. It’s the new citizenship in society badge.”
For about 8 years, Lucas has participated in Boy Scouts. Before he heads to college in the fall, he knew he had to complete the Eagle Scout service project.
“Eagle Scouts are more likely to be hired. They are more likely to get accepted to colleges because it’s something that shows determination,” says Lucas. “It kind of clicked like hey I want to do something here because this is where my old scoutmaster was treated during his end-of-life care.”
His scoutmaster Nick Evans passed away in 2017. Evans was a local realtor and heavily involved in Troop 2.
“He came over from Britain so he always had that British accent that was amazing to hear every day. I went to my first summer camp for a week and the last three days, I got sick. But I kept on smiling through it because he was there you know just pushing me along and making everything happy and it was awesome to have him there,” said Lucas.
“When he got diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, it was a hit and nobody really knew because he wanted to keep it a secret but we eventually found out and that broke a lot of us. There are some kids who I don’t think have recovered yet,” says Lucas.
Now Evans is memorialized in Lucas’s Eagle Scout project. He built three picnic tables for Avow Hospice in Naples where Evans received treatment. One table is dedicated to Evans, another to local veterans from every branch of the military, and the third is used for children at Avow Kids.
“It gave a place for people to see what you want memorialized, but at the same time, somewhere to eat, somewhere to rest. It was something that I could put in my personal stuff with my old scoutmaster but also serve the community,” said Lucas.
After raising $2,000 to build the tables, Lucas still had $500 left over that he presented to Avow as a donation.
“I felt like I had a responsibility. To Nick. To keep on going,” said Lucas. “When he passed it was like well he’s gotten me so far. I can’t just stop now and just quit.”
Lucas just graduated high school and is headed to the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne this fall. He plans to become an aerospace engineer.
Some other famous Eagle Scouts of note – Neil Armstrong, Bill Gates, and Steven Spielberg.
If you would like to nominate an inspiring person for our segment, email me at lisa.hutson@winknews.com and tell me their story.