David Thomas, Garrett Thompson and Logan Rand make Eagle Scout

Ormond Beach Observer
Neighbors

To earn their Eagle Scouts, Ormond Beach teenagers David Thomas, Garrett Thompson and Logan Rand each led local service projects.

BY MIKE CAVALIERE | ASSOCIATE EDITOR

It was more than 10 years in the making, but last Monday, Sept. 24, a review board approved Seabreeze high school students David Thomas (Troop 403), Garrett Thompson and Logan Rand (both Troop 468) as Ormond Beach’s newest Eagle Scouts.

“It really is a pretty big deal,” Troop Commander Eric Rand said of the designation, adding that less than 2% of all boys that start scouting actually reach its highest rank of Eagle.

All three of the new inductees started in the same Cub Scouts pack (74), then they went on to Boy Scouts and currently attend Seabreeze High School together, where Thomas plays in the band, Thompson plays varsity football and Rand is vice president of his senior class.

“This is such awesome preparation for these boys,” Rand said, citing the interviews scouts must pass and the 21 badges they must earn in order to become Eagles. “It prepares them in a way that other kids in school just aren’t exposed to.”

One of the main requirements to becoming an Eagle Scout is planning and leading a service project, which Thomas, Thompson and Rand each passed with flying colors.

For Logan Rand’s project, he gave Head Start Holly Hill a facelift, by leading a team in power-washing, cleaning and painting the whole building. He also designed and installed a new sign for its exterior.

Thompson renovated the prayer garden at First United Methodist Church, cleared out three trailer loads of debris and replaced it with new foliage, mulch, bird feeder and bird bath. The total hours for the project came to 346, including planning.

And Thomas spruced up a meeting hall at the Community United Methodist Church, in Daytona Beach. He got ceiling plaster repaired, replaced termite-damaged woodwork and repainted the room.

In about a month, ceremonies will be held for the three new Eagle Scouts. But just because they reached the top, Rand said, it doesn’t mean their work as scouts is finished.

“There’s an Eagle charge that each scout takes during their Court of Honor, to represent scouting in the future and to give back to scouting,” he said. “This is something that will stick with them their whole lives, and it will open a lot of doors.”

“Getting your Eagle Scout shows that you had the drive to see something through and complete it,” said Hank McConnell, Thomas’ former troop commander and an Eagle Scout himself. “If I put on a resume that I’m an Ealge Scout, it takes notice, because people automatically associate an Eagle Scout with being ... just a good, well-rounded person.”