Troop 41 produces many Eagle scouts
Oct. 1—LENOX TOWNSHIP — Eagle Scouts have been pouring out of Boy Scout Troop 41 for the last several years.
The guidance of troop leader Scott Allen and a competitive atmosphere between the scouts is credited for creating seven Eagle Scouts within the last three years and at least another four in the past five years, according to scouts and leaders who attended the most recent Court of Honor for Stephen Sly.
Since the 1910 creation of the Boy Scouts of America, four percent of participating scouts have received the award. Clearly, Troop 41 is way ahead of that percentage.
Sly was joined by six of his former fellow troop members, including several that drove back to the area from college to participate in the ceremony.
The event took place Sunday afternoon at the Lenox Township Community Center.
Sly took the Eagle Scout oath and thanked his parents and all the people who helped him move along toward the highest award in scouting.
"Every step they pushed me along when I didn't want to do it," he said of his parents' encouragement.
Sly also thanked those who attended his Court of Honor for their help in reaching his goal.
After the ceremony the seven Eagle Scouts gathered outside the community center for a picture in front of one of the three benches Sly put in place as his Eagle Scout project.
The other six scouts that attended the ceremony were Andrew Kassay 2021, Zachary Miller, 2020, Ben Allen 2022, Aidan O'Neill 2022, Benjamin Douglas 2022 and Camden Lee 2021.
The scouts did a variety of projects ranging from improving a sound system at Jefferson United Methodist Church to the improvement of a nature trail at Lulu Falls in Kingsville Township.
The boys and other scout leaders credited Allen with creating the atmosphere to help the boys reach their goals.
Sly said the competitive, but cooperative, relationships between the boys made the dream a reality. "We all worked hard and decided not to get left behind," he said.
Allen recently stepped down as head scout master due to a change in his business but is still an assistant scout master.
Jerry Huelensbeck also has been instrumental in the Eagle Scout success rate. He has been working with the troop for three years and is a Life to Eagle coordinator that assists the boys in making the final step in their scouting journey.
Huelensbeck said he has been involved in scouting for more than 50 years and said he keeps going because of "days like this" (the Eagle Scout honor court)," he said.
Chris Szitas is the new scout master and said Allen was the driving force behind the success of the boys becoming Eagle scouts but also credits the boys.
"It was their relationships with each other," he said.
The pipeline is not closing up anytime soon as another scout is on pace to become an Eagle Scout next year.
