Troop 5 staged a Grand Court of Honor on Sunday, June 12. Approximately 125 scouts, parents and friends joined the troop in celebrating various awards and achievements and welcoming Troop 5’s newest Eagle Scouts, Shane O’Neil and Luke Dutton, to the group of Troop 5 Eagle alumni .

Cameron Smith served as the master of ceremonies for the regular court of honor. Dr. Kenneth Ruge, pastor of The Reformed Church, gave the invocation. He was followed by various awards of new rank to 18 scouts — 10 were honored as new scouts in the troop with the presentation of the Scout Rank, and there were 6 new First Class scouts and 2 new Star Scouts. Also, 30 merit badges were awarded to the scouts, many of which were earned at Merit Badge Saturday in Scarsdale in April. Also of note, Michael Landy was mentioned as one of the first 12 scouts in the country to earn the new Robotics merit badge in Boston in May.

After the rank and merit badge awards, leadership positions were announced for the 2011/2012 scout year. Special recognition was also given to scouts who participated in the Great Saunter, a 32 mile trek around Manhattan, scouts who completed their CPR certification, scouts who completed their instruction course for the scuba diving merit badge and scouts who participated in last month’s Camporee at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Finally, Will Rabsey, Michael Landy, Jason Cushman, Jack O’Neill and Tommy Meade were all given special awards for their exemplary attendance this last year at the various meetings and activities.

The regular Court of Honor was followed by an Eagle Court of Honor that Michael Landy hosted as Master of Ceremonies. After a delicious meal served by the Duttons and O’Neils, an invocation was given by Mr. Steve Magneson of Christ Church. The special guest speaker was the president of the Westchester-Putnam Council, Mr. David Walsh, who gave a memorable speech that reflected on his 50 years in scouting. Mr. Bender reviewed what it means to be an Eagle Scout and reflections were given by both Mr. Carley and Mr. Landy. Perhaps the most memorable part of the evening was a special candlelight presentation of the scout law that the scouts gave as a gift to Shane and Luke. A flame was passed from Mr. Ranieri (their first scoutmaster) to Mr. Carley and to Mr. Landy to Luke and Shane and then to 12 scouts who each repeated a law and what it meant to them. After that, Shane and Luke received their Eagle Badges and pinned special pins on their mothers and fathers.

It was a fun and memorable evening for all. We are thrilled for Shane and Luke and look forward to following in their footsteps one day!