Williston girl earns rank of Eagle Scout, the second in her Scouting district
PERRYSBURG - On March 11, the 2023 Scouting Youth Honors Banquet for Erie Shores Council was held at Grace Church in Perrysburg. At this banquet honoring scouts earning the Eagle Scout rank in 2022, 51 of Eagle Shores’ 118 Eagle Scouts were registered and attended, including five girls who attained the Eagle Scout rank.
According to Jeff Smarkel, Erie Shores Advancement Chairman, 10 young women have earned the rank of Eagle Scout in the council. In Eagle Bay District, with includes Ottawa and Sandusky Counties, Anna is the second scout to earn the award — the first being awarded in 2021 to Arika Zieter, from Troop 9370, in Carroll Township, Oak Harbor.
The Boy Scouts of America was established in the United States by Robert Baden-Powell in 1910 as an organization open to young men ages 11 to 18. Fast forward to 2017, when for the first-time girls were allowed to join single-gender Cub Scout dens and then in 2019 join Boy Scout troops.
Anna Sommers, 16, of Williston, became the first female Eagle Scout in her Troop 9342, which has eight members. Ben Sommers, Anna’s dad, is the Scoutmaster of the troop that was formed in 2019, at St. John’s Lutheran Church, in Williston.
Ben’s wife Kimberly, is both Anna’s mom and assistant Scoutmaster for the troop.
Anna has held the positions of Senior Patrol Leader, assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Den Chief, Chaplin’s Aide, and is currently Troop Guide. The Fishing merit badge is the favorite of the 42 merit badges she has earned so far, and she enjoys fishing on Lake Erie.
In the summer of 2022, Anna worked in the Nature area at Pioneer Scout Reservation, in Pioneer, Ohio, teaching merit badges such as Reptile and Amphibian Study, Forestry, Weather, and Nature. She enjoys teaching young scouts skills, and working with them at meetings and camps. She hopes that more young girls will join Scouting, and loves to encourage young scouts in her troop to set and achieve their goals. Upon graduation, she wants to someday become a teacher.
For her Eagle Scout project, Anna built shelving units for the “Blessing Box”, a food pantry set up at St. John’s Lutheran Church, in Williston. More than 56 hours were spent on the planning and completion of the project.
Anna has a younger brother who is a member of Troop 342 in Williston. At age 14, her brother Benjamin Sommers III earned the rank of Eagle Scout too. Anna and Benjamin pushed and inspired each other to achieve scouting’s highest rank. On Aug. 3, 2022, Anna passed her Eagle Board of Review, earning her Eagle rank. Forty-five minutes later, Benjamin also passed his Board of Review, joining his sister as an Eagle Scout.
Anna is glad for her brother’s accomplishment, but added: “I’m proud of the fact that I earned my Eagle rank 45 minutes before he did."
Correspondent Doug Hise entered the Boy Scouts in 1969, earned Eagle Scout rank in 1973, and served as scoutmaster of Troop 310 in Genoa for 23 years starting in 1980.
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Williston girl recognized as Eagle Scout, the second in her Scouting district
