Schools
Hazelwood Students Earn Eagle Scout Ranking
Throughout the year, seven Hazelwood School District students earned the Boy Scouts of Greater St. Louis' highest honor, Eagle Scout. Including five from Hazelwood West High School.
It takes dedication to see something through several years, but that's just what seven (HSD) students did to earn the Greater St. Louis Area Council, Boy Scouts of America's highest honor, Eagle Scout.
To become an Eagle Scout, the young men must progress through ranks in a specific order. Certain achievements have to be made including earning 21 merit badges and serving six months in a troop leadership position. Each scout must also plan, develop and give leadership to a service project for any religious organization or any school or community; and take part in a Scoutmaster conference. Once this has been accomplished the scout must successfully complete an Eagle Scout board of review.
The seven HSD students to reach Eagle Scout ranking include five from (HWHS) including:
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- Dan Berndt, HWHS senior from Troop 740
- Tim Rice, HWHS freshman from Troop 740
- Greg Shelton, a junior at Hazelwood Central High School from Troop 921
- Richard Shivley, HWHS senior from Troop 705
- Ben Standley, HWHS senior from Troop 740
- Brad Taylor, HWHS sophomore from Troop 551
- Adam Von Hall, a seventh grader at Hazelwood Northwest Middle School from Troop 739
Most of the Scouts said they have been in Boy Scouts since elementary school.
Tim said he added workout stations that included push-up, sit-up, and a balance beam in in the .
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“I got the idea from one of my friends who did this somewhere else,” he said in an HSD statement. “I’m relieved because it’s done.”
Standley said he renovated a slope at that neighbors .
“I trimmed (and) removed bushes and vines, removed poison ivy, tilled the ground, put in new ground cover and sanded, primed and painted a railing,” he said. “The project taught me good leadership skills, some responsibility and project management skills."
Installing at least one concrete bench was also part of the project, which is visible from Howdershell Road.
Berndt said he revamped some of the horseshoe pits at and parks, a project he said took two weeks to complete.
In 2010, 56,176 scouts earned Eagle rank, according to the Boy Scouts of America website.
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