Fly Like an "Eagle"

Every father wants to see his son bypass his own accomplishments, and that's exactly what I'm witnessing.  My son Jace is already taller than me, better looking than me (just barely), and now he reached the pinnacle of scouting--something I never got close to achieving.

I began as a cub scout in Wichita, Kansas.  Shortly after that, we moved to Calgary, Alberta where I turned 11 and became a boy scout.  With the help of my scout leader mother, I gathered enough merit badges to earn a bronze chain.  (In Canadian scouting, there are three levels--bronze chain, silver chain, and gold chain, and then you become what's called a Queen Scout.)  When we later moved back to the Wichita, I looked to continue my scouting career but the Boy Scouts of America did not accept any of the work I did in Canada--not First Aid, not Citizenship, none of it.  Plus, the local boy scout office lost my sash with all my Canadian boy scout badges on it.  Rather than accept what happened, learn from it, persevere, and move forward, I threw in the towel.  



Contrast that "defeated" attitude with Jace.  He, too, had a scout leader mother who helped him along his early path.  As a boy scout, he busted out of the gate under the direction and motivation of his 11 year old scout leader, Larry Seipert.  Jace already achieved the rank of First Class by the time he turned 12.  He attended several scout camps--Melita Island in Montana and Camp Grizzly in north Idaho.  While at Camp Grizzly, he noticed the work put in by the youth staffers and how they successfully mentored the younger boys.  "Dad," he said, "I'd like to become a staffer too."  That winter, he applied to become a merit badge counselor at Melita Island (see video below). 

He was thrilled when he received word of his acceptance.  That summer, I drove him to Flathead Lake where, now as a Life scout, he boarded one of the historic Melita Arks (see video below) for his six week stay on Melita Island.  

He went to Melita, his first extended trip away from home, without knowing a single person.  But soon, he had many friends.  They gave him the nickname "Lolo" based on the small town south of Missoula where he grew up.  As a staffer, he taught and supervised other young scouts from Montana, Idaho, Washington, Wisconsin and other states who visited Melita Island with their scout troops for a week at a time. While he also assisted with the daily morning and evening flag ceremonies, took part in the Sunday evening skits in the amphitheater, and helped in the kitchen and Trading Post, his main duty was to help scouts earn merit badges in the Nature division of camp.  Even though he was a staffer, he used some of his spare time to earn other merit badges that interested him.  He also asked the senior staffers to help him earn the few required merit badges he still lacked to qualify for the rank of Eagle.  (At least one member of Jace's troop and Jace's cousin from Idaho followed in his footsteps to work as staffers at Melita Island.) 



Lori pins the Eagle medal on Jace



(Camp administration encourages parents and families to visit the island and spend the night to see how it operates.  As a family, we surprised Jace one afternoon and spent the night there.  I spent two other nights there--once with my wife and the other by myself after dropping him off for his second summer there.  During my first visit, I took a camera with me to do a series of stories on Melita Island for KPAX-TV.) 



Melita Island Camp Director Erik Isaacson & Scoutmaster and
long-time family friend Cameron Criddle 

We brainstormed as a family and came up what seemed to be a worthy Eagle project--the final requirement that would allow Jace to become an Eagle scout.  He wanted to erect a "Welcome to Lolo" sign on the north edge of town.  He received an enthusiastic "thumbs up" from both the Lolo Community Council and the Missoula County Commission, so he started to make the sign become a reality.  Jace began fundraising at various businesses all around Lolo.  He also received the donation of three logs from Plum Creek.  Jace came up with a design and initially consulted with a sign builder in Frenchtown before that became a dead end.  At that point, he encountered a bureaucratic nightmare of legal red tape.  He was disappointed, then rejuvenated, then disappointed, then rejuvenated.  It was a long, long process (see video at the very bottom) involving Missoula County, the State of Montana, and other entities.  In the end, it took almost two years for Jace to get final approval on a small piece of land where he could erect the sign.  Then he turned to Sentinel High School shop teacher Kevin Schooler, who volunteered on his own time to help Jace finalize a design and then eventually build the sign.  Jace received great support from his fellow 1986 troop members and several of the boys' fathers.



Troop 1986 flag ceremony



Jace & his American flag cupcakes

  

The public nature of the project led to a lot of attention once the sign was finally up.  That included positive email and phone messages, letters to the editor, and a nice article in the Missoulian newspaper.  Read it here.

 

Jace awards Mother's Pin to his mom, Mentor Pin to Larry Seipert & Father's Pin to his dad



The court of honor was a special evening.  Those who attended included family, friends, scout troop members, LDS church members, Melita Island leaders, civic leaders, and other community members.  Jace also received letters of commendation from Senator Max Baucus, Senator Jon Tester, Congressman Denny Rehberg, Governor Brian Schweitzer, and Missoula Mayor John Engen.  (Here is the video we showed that evening of Jace growing up in scouting, a closer look at Melita Island Scout Camp, and Jace himself describing the challenges he faced erecting the "Welcome to Lolo" sign:)

From a proud father to his Eagle scout son.  Jace, congratulations on your patience and perseverance.  I salute you for a job and a scouting career extremely well done!

The Eagle Scout & his proud family