Eli Parish's Eagle Scout rank was no walk in the park

NEPONSET – Eli Parish of Bradford Boy Scout Troop 1851 reached a lifetime goal and joined the top 4% of Boy Scouts by earning the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest achievement in the scouting program.

The Bradford troop is chartered to Boyd’s Grove Church, just east of Bradford.

Parish held many leadership positions in his troop, including Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Patrol Leader, Assistant Patrol Leader and Troop Scribe. He also managed the flags for the village of Neponset; volunteered as a Staff Member for five years at the annual week-long Cub Scout Day Camp in Princeton; and served both as a Counselor in Training (CIT) and Staff Member at L.E. Phillips Scout Reservation in Rice Lake, WI.

In addition to earning the 21 required merit badges, he earned six other merit badges. This made it possible for him to also earn a Bronze Palm.

Parish also had the opportunity to participate in a “Great Adventure.” Every 4th year, in lieu of summer camp, the troop takes a 2-week trip. He participated in “The Great Northwest Adventure of 2018” where they visited places like The Corn Palace, The Badlands National Park, Mammoth Site & Jewel Cave, Black Hills National Forest, Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone National Park, Devil’s Tower, the Petrified Forest, and went whitewater rafting on Snake River.

Some of the regular group monthly outings he has participated in over the years have included Great Oaks High Ropes Course - Chillicothe, IL; Survival Outings; Snowstar - Adalusia, IL; Rifle Shooting; Palisades / Galena for the US Grant Pilgrimage; Matthiessen Dells / Starved Rock; Chicago Tour; Wokanda Cabins; Indiana Dunes; Comlara County Park; Shadows of the Blue & Grey (Civil War Reenactment) - Princeton, IL; Lincoln Heritage Trail - Springfield, IL; Trap / 22 / Archery Shoot; Hennepin Canal Camp; IVY Club Sailing; Ingersoll Winter Cabin Camping; Maquoketa Caves State Park; Magic Waters; and the St. Louis City Museum

He routinely participated in numerous service projects as well, including the annual Lions Pancake Breakfast, Highway Trash Cleanup, Wreaths Across America in Springfield, IL, and helping the troop to ensure all of the city flags were displayed in the downtown area and cemetery for each Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day and Veteran’s Day.

During his tenure as a scout, Eli attended three different summer camps including Ingersoll in London Mills, IL,  Robert Drake in Fairmount, IL, and L.E. Phillips in Rice Lake, WI.

He also fully managed and completed a service project that involved placing marker plaques on a large boulder near the entrance of the Boyd's Grove Church, where a time capsule had been buried 20 years earlier to commemorate the church's sestercentennial but had never been marked. He also led a team of volunteers to landscape around the boulder to beautify it since up to that point it had  simply been sitting on sparse grass and dirt. The church committee decided on the wording for the plaque and the year to open the time capsule - which will be in 2051 (50 years from when it was buried) and Parish hopes to attend the opening of it when the time comes.

Finally, Eli received several prestigious awards including Order of the Arrow, the Polar Bear Award (for winter camping), a Stand up Paddleboarding Award and numerous "Operation Christmas Child" Awards for both donating a box to a child in need and assisting the Troop with preparing numerous boxes to send.

No easy task

As an Eagle Scout, Parish  joins the likes of Neil Armstrong, Willie Banks, President Gerald Ford, Steve Fossett, and even Sam Walton, who also achieved the rank of Eagle Scout and are Scouting’s “best of the best.”

The requirements to become an Eagle Scout take many years to fulfill and require precise advancement through seven ranks calling for the mastery of everything from A to Z across areas such as Camping and Outdoor Ethics, Ropes and Knots, Cooking, Tools, Navigation, Nature, Aquatics, First Aid, Emergency Preparedness, Life Saving, Fitness Hiking, Citizenship, Personal Safety Awareness, Leadership, and Scout Spirit (just to name a few).

In earning ranks and merit badges, scouts must learn and properly demonstrate a wide variety of tasks, some of which include land and water life saving and survival techniques, the proper handling and preparation of food for the entire group, the identification of various plant species, learning to tie numerous knots (even doing some of them one-handed for lifesaving purposes), navigating with or without a map, passing fitness requirements, learning about citizenship, serving the community, and leading others. The Eagle Scout has to accomplish tasks and learn large volumes of information –knowledge necessary for any college-bound student (and all of that is in addition to his normal academics).

Scouts must also be active in the troop for a certain number of months within each rank, earn the minimum required number of merit badges for each, achieve a set number of service hours, participate in campouts and activities, hold leadership roles, teach others, and earn at least 21 (out of a possible 135) total merit badges, 13 of which are Eagle-required. An Eagle Scout candidate must also gather reference letters; develop a “statement of ambitions and life purpose” list honors, awards, and roles of leadership outside of scouting; plan, develop / lead an extensive service project to benefit the community, and compile a self-designed Eagle Scout Notebook, showcasing all he has accomplished.

This is followed by a lengthy review process, including answering in-depth questions in front of a Board of Review, before having his notebook presented at the national level for approval. If successful, the Eagle Scout receives letters of commendation and accolades from numerous high-ranking officials including everyone from the local Mayor all the way up to the President of the United States.

This article originally appeared on Star Courier: Eli Parish's Eagle Scout rank was no walk in the park