By Anna Vu

Special to the Reporter

On January 11,  eleven young men of Troop 457 from Mercer Island will celebrate achieving the rank of Eagle Scout.  The new Eagle Scouts are Mark Anderson, Chris Apacible, Devlin Conway, Nolan Conway, Matthew Hanson, Alex Kovar, Chris Merritt, Ryan Newell, Thomas Rall, Nathaniel Tate, and Ethan Vu.

They started as the Jackalope patrol in 2007.

Their Scoutmasters included: Dan Hanson, Dana Melick, Jeff Peterson, Jeff Garrett and Karl Forsgaard.

At one point, the patrol was as large as eighteen boys. Through the years, these young men have shared a love of scouting and the values of the Boy Scout law.  These young men have been on many adventures, supporting and encouraging one another.  Their journeys have included ‘High Adventure’ camps to Philmont in New Mexico and Seabase in Florida, the National Jamboree in Washington, D.C. celebrating 100 years of Scouting, Camp Grizzly, Camp Easton, Order of the Arrow ordeals, kayaking to Blake Island, building snow caves, and many backpacking trips.  This summer five of the boys organized a ten day hike of their own, and ventured through Montana.

Earning the rank of Eagle Scout is an accomplishment that less than ten percent  of Boy Scouts achieve. This required earning at least 21 merit badges, hours of volunteering, holding leadership positions within the Troop, completing an Eagle project that helps their community, and living up to the Boy Scout law.

By achieving Eagle Scout, these young men have become part of a fraternity they will share for a lifetime.