Hilltown Boy Scouts
Six members of local troop earn their wings



HILLTOWNS — I can spend hours surfing the Internet. I can wait until tomorrow to do my homework. Maybe I won’t even do it. I can sleep in this weekend. I don’t need to exercise. I’m already in good enough shape.

An easy philosophy to live by — one that doesn’t apply to Troop 79.

Ever mindful of maintaining a state of alertness and remaining prepared, the troop members are committed to acts of self-improvement, and they abide by the Scout Law, the Scout Slogan, The Scout Motto, and the Scout Oath.

This past year, the troop has been putting its skills and principles to work.

Six of the troop’s 32 Scouts achieved the rank of Eagle Scout — the sixth and highest rank of the Boy Scouts of America.

Only about 3 percent of all Boy Scouts reach the rank of Eagle. Some Eagle Scouts of note are: filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Michael Moore; astronauts Neil Armstrong and James Lovell; 38th President of the United States, Gerald Ford; and Wal-Mart founder, Sam Walton.

The six Hilltown Eagle Scouts who recently reached the rank — Andrew Cortese, Justin Lewis, Jason Norray, Evan Place, Kevin Sherman, and Ian Smith — spent years learning and perfecting many skills. Some got an early start by joining the Cub Scouts.

Beginning the program as Tenderfoot Scouts, the first rank of the BSA’s six-rank program, the Scouts received merit badges once they’d mastered outdoor and civic skills — swimming, safety, first aid, camping, climbing, fire safety, communication, family life, and many others.

To reach the Eagle Scout rank, the six Scouts were required to demonstrate their leadership skills by completing a Leadership Service Project — a project helpful to a religious institution, school, or the community.

Each of the Scouts planned his project, received approval from town or school officials, and oversaw every aspect of the project from its inception to its completion.

Family members, fellow Scouts, and troop leaders helped each of the Scouts.

Cortese built a covered outdoor grill at the Berne town park. At 15, Cortese is the youngest of the Eagles. He plans to join the Army as a member of the Military Police. After serving, Cortese wants to become a New York State Trooper.

Lewis also chose the park as the site of his project and recreated the massive wooden World War II Honor Roll Memorial. He spent about a week building the sign with his father and a couple of friends, he said. He received financing for screws and paint from Berne. The wood, he said, was donated by Stempel Sawmill.
"I want to start my own business," Lewis said of his future plans. "Something architectural — designing houses or landscaping."

Norray constructed the Town of Knox Park sign. Place built media shelves at the Berne Library. Smith built a footbridge at the Berne-Knox-Westerlo track complex.

Sherman restored the Quay Road Cemetery in Knox.
"The cemetery is old," he said. "Some of the headstones dated back to the late 1700’s and the early 1800’s."

The cemetary, he added, hadn’t had any upkeep in years. Its walls had collapsed, some headstones had fallen over, and the grass and brush were overgrown.

Though involved in sports and attending school, time management, Sherman said, was never an issue. Though he missed meetings periodically, Sherman said, he always stayed in touch with the troop.

A bit uncertain about his future since surviving a car accident in March, Sherman plans on enlisting in the Navy or becoming a full-time firefighter.

Community reacts
"These guys just did some amazing work," Berne Supervisor Kevin Crosier said. He added, "The skill and professionalism was just amazing. I wish more people could learn from these guys." Crosier added that each of the four Eagle Scouts in Berne presented his idea for a service project to the Berne Town Board.
"It’s hard to stand up in front of a large group of people, but these guys were very professional," he said.
"It’s a good culmination to the scouting process as they enter into the real world," Knox Supervisor Michael Hammond said of the service projects.
"Kevin was involved in cleaning up the brush, and fixing the headstones at the cemetery, and he did a very good job making it look presentable," Hammond said of Place. He went on about Narray’s park sign. "With Jason’s project, we paid for the materials, and, when he gave his presentation, we thought it was a very good idea."

Crosier and Hammond, along with members of the town boards, signed certificates of recognition for the Scouts after they completed their projects and achieved the Eagle Scout rank.
"They need to be identified," Crosier said.
District Director Dennis Dugan of the Twin Rivers Council in Albany, said of the troop, "They have pretty much had an Eagle Scout every year." Dugan added, "It’s very rare to have six in one year. That’s one dedicated group of parents and boys."

Reverend Robert Hoffman, a former scoutmaster of the troop, said that Troop 79 had as many Eagle Scouts in a short period about five years ago.
"That was really cool," Hoffman said of the 2001-2002 troop, which included his twin sons, who are both Eagle Scouts. "Those guys started out as seven-year-olds and went through 11 years together," he said.

Will power
"With the 32 members in their troop, and six Eagle Scouts, they’re at about 20 percent," Dugan said, comparing it to the national average of 3 percent. He added that one of the troop’s strengths is recruitment.
"Keeping the interest of the boys, and keeping them on the path to Eagle Scout is difficult," he said. Dugan explained, "At that age, you’ve got cars, and girls, and sports." Staying with the program, he said, is a testament to the Scout’s own willpower and to the parents. "After the age of 16, most take on other interests," Dugan said.
"They stick with it because of community," scoutmaster George Reynolds said. Reynolds added that the parent involvement in Troop 79 differs from his past experience. Reynolds, the troop’s scoutmaster for the past two years, grew up in the city, and said that, when he was in scouting, the Boy Scouts of America "was kind of like a baby-sitter." Parents, he said, would just drop boys off. Reynolds said that the parental and family involvement and the turnout at Troop 79’s camping events have been outstanding.
Since February, however, the troop has experienced a drastic drop in enrollment. The troop, which had 32 Scouts in February, he said, now has only 12. Reynolds attributed the reduction to graduated Scouts and a lack of interest. Scouts are no longer in the program after they turn 18. "As they get older, they don’t feel we can hold their interest anymore," Reynolds said.
"Eagle Scouts," he said, "have goals. They work together — as a group, as a team — and help out the younger Scouts. Scouting’s main goal," Reynolds said, "is to teach responsibility and leadership."
"There are a whole lot of benefits to being an Eagle Scout," said Kathy Sherman, who has been a Girl Scout leader for seven years. Her son, Kevin, is not the first in the family to reach the rank of Eagle.
"His father, Dan, and his uncle, David, are both Eagle Scouts. His grandfather, Dana, was a scoutmaster," she said. Kevin Sherman’s aunt, she added, earned a Gold Award — the highest rank in the Girl Scouts of America, comparable to Eagle Scout.
"Kevin is looking at going into the Navy as a Navy Seal, and, since he is an Eagle Scout, his pay would jump right away from an E-1, the lowest pay grade, to an E-3," she said. "It looks pretty on a résumé," she said of the rank of Eagle Scout. "Those two words mean a lot."