Ahern: Eagle Scout rank awarded to five Beverly residents
By Patti Ahern Citizen Journalist/pattiarma@aol.com July 12, 2012 1:12PM
Five residents from Chicago’s Beverly community take the Scout Oath during an Eagle Scout ceremony. Pictured (from left) are Thomas Poole, Conor Broaders, Martin Chappetto, Andrew Nine, Frank Waggoner and Troop 607 Scoutmaster Earl Syler. | Supplied Photo
Updated: August 16, 2012 6:09AM
The highest honor that can be given to a Boy Scout recently was awarded to five young men from Chicago’s Beverly community.
Residents Conor Broaders, Martin Chappetto, Andrew Nine, Thomas Poole and Frank Waggoner, each from Troop 607, earned 21 merit badges, held leadership positions in the troop, and then completed a special service project that made them eligible for the Eagle Scout rank.
According to the Boy Scouts of America Scouting magazine, the Eagle Scout Award recognizes the “all-around perfect scout.”
Boys who work toward this award must first earn recognition for first aid, lifesaving or public health, to name a few. Once they have earned the required badges, the service project — a requirement that evolved in the 1960s — must be performed for a religious institution, school or community.
Broaders, who recently graduated from Whitney Young Magnet High School in Chicago, joined Troop 607 in 2006. He held various leadership positions in his troop, including patrol leader and junior assistant scoutmaster. For his service project, Broaders cleaned and organized the Bethany Union Church library. Broaders will attend Northwestern University in the fall, where he will major in engineering and vocal performance.
Chappetto joined the troop in 2007 and will be a junior at Jones College Prep High School in Chicago this fall. He also was a patrol leader for the troop and earned an Arrow of Light Award, which is another prestigious scouting award.
Chappetto organized a coat drive and gathered more than 60 coats for homeless people who are helped through the food pantry at Holy Family Parish in Chicago.
“For some reason, this service project just spoke to me,” Chappetto said. “I heard about it and I wanted to do it.”
Chappetto’s mom, Mary Helen, said her son sees and interacts with homeless people when he is near his high school and recently arranged for a homeless man to have a meal at a restaurant. She expressed pride in her son’s accomplishment and complimented all the Eagle Scout inductees, saying they were all “fantastic young men.”
Nine joined Troop 607 in 2005 and worked as a patrol leader, senior patrol leader, junior assistant scoutmaster and bugler for the group. He also earned an Arrow of Light award. Nine designed and helped build storage containers and shelving units for the food pantry that operates from St. Gail’s Parish in Chicago.
Nine chose St. Gail because the St. Vincent DePaul Society from St. Barnabas Parish volunteered at their weekly food pantry.
“I visited on a food distribution day and was inspired to help,” Nine said. “They needed a more secure space to store materials, so we designed and built a storage box that could be locked and a set of sturdy shelves.”
Nine’s mother, Kyle, shared her thoughts about her son’s achievement, and said his Eagle Scout pin came from his father.
“I was proud to pin Andrew with his father’s Eagle Scout pin,” Kyle said. “He loves scouting. He has worked hard and is proud to be an Eagle Scout from Troop 607.”
Nine recently graduated from Whitney Young Magnet High School and will be attending Indiana University in the fall.
Poole, who joined Troop 607 in 2007, served as a patrol leader, a quartermaster and an assistant junior scoutmaster. He also earned an Arrow of Light award.
Poole organized the restoration of the north entrance to Bethany Union Church as part of his service project, which included an overall clean-up, landscaping, construction of a new bench and painting.
“I wanted to complete an Eagle Scout project which would benefit Bethany Union Church since the church and its members have been so supportive of the troop,” Poole said. “To me, becoming an Eagle Scout was never about receiving a rank or award, but becoming a better person through the experiences I have had in scouting over the past 10 years.”
Poole will be a junior at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences in the fall.
Waggoner joined Troop 607 in 2007 and served as a patrol leader, senior patrol leader and junior assistant scoutmaster. He also earned an Arrow of Light award.
Waggoner organized a bike drive for Working Bikes, a nonprofit group that collects used bikes to be donated to community groups and various charities in the United States and abroad.
Waggoner said choosing to be an Eagle Scout was something he wanted to do for a long time.
“It’s been a goal of mine since first grade. My dad was also an Eagle Scout, so he encouraged me. It is good because every year, I learn something new,” Waggoner said.
Waggoner plans to remain involved in scouting and will start his junior year this fall at the University of Chicago Lab School.
Troop 607 is from Bethany Union Church, 1750 W. 103rd St. For more information about the church and its activities, visit www.bethanyunionchurch.net.
