Embedded Files
The following members of Troop 2810 have been awarded the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank attainable in Boy Scouts. The title of Eagle Scout is held for life, thus giving rise to the phrase "Once an Eagle, always an Eagle".
Requirements include earning at least 21 merit badges and demonstrating Scout Spirit through the Boy Scout Oath and Law, service, and leadership. This includes an extensive service project that the Scout plans, organizes, leads, and manages. Eagle Scouts are presented with a medal and a badge that visibly recognizes the accomplishments of the Scout. Additional recognition can be earned through Eagle Palms, awarded for completing additional tenure, leadership, and merit badge requirements.
2012: Alex Handel
Alex Handel was Troop 2810's first Eagle. Handel first joined Cub Scouts in 2003 in Oskaloosa, Iowa, with Cub Scout Pack 77. A short time later his family moved to Sycamore and he joined Cub Scout Pack 102 chartered by Southeast Elementary School. There he earned all five Cub Scout ranks and the Arrow of Light, the highest award given in Cub Scouts.
In 2007, he crossed over into Boy Scouts Troop 2 then later transferred to Troop 2810 as one of the first members of the troop. Handel participated in weekend and summer camps, trips to Eagle Cave, National Youth Leadership Training, the National Jamboree in 2010 and 2013, two Philmont Scout Ranch treks and a Boundary Waters High Adventure.
Handel earned 41 merit badges. After earning the required 21 merit badges for Eagle rank, a scout can earn additional Eagle Palms with five additional merit badges for each Palm. After receiving the Eagle
rank, Handel earned the Bronze, Silver and Gold Eagle Palms this year.
Handel also held various leadership positions including Senior Patrol Leader and Crew Leader for both Philmont and Boundary Waters trips. His Eagle Project was constructing nine outdoor benches for Russell Woods Forest Preserve in Genoa. Handel’s Eagle Ceremony was held in conjunction with fellow Eagle Scout Brandon Nelson at Sycamore’s Salem Lutheran Church. Handel plans to remain active in scouting.
2013: Brandon Nelson
In 2002, Brandon joined Cub Scouts and over the years completed the ranks of Tiger, Wolf, Bear and Webelos while he was a member of Pack 102. Brandon also earned the Arrow of Light Award. Cub Scouts taught him the basics of many different things, like how to shoot a gun and bow, how to canoe and camp, also about the importance of first aid and wilderness conservation.
Brandon made many friends in Cub Scouts and enjoyed many activities, especially the Pumpkin Fest Parade, Webelos Camp, and Pinewood Derby. His favorite individual scouting experience was Webelos Camp at camp Freeland Leslie.
In 2007, Brandon crossed over from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts to Troop 2 and worked through the scout ranks of Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class and Star. The change from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts was a challenging one for Brandon as he had to learn to cook, clean and communicate on his own without the help of his
parents.
In 2010, Brandon moved from Troop 2 to Troop 2810 where he served as a Senior Patrol Leader for two terms along with other leadership roles. Brandon also advanced to the rank of Life Scout. The responsibility and people skills required to succeed in these positions took a lot of time, effort, and help from the fellow scouts and
scout leaders around me. Some of his favorite memories were summer camps, a trip to Boundary Waters and the Polar Bear
Campouts.
Brandon's Eagle Scout project was the renovation of St. Mary’s Cemetery in Maple Park, where with the help of volunteers he re-leveled and repaired sunken and broken tombstones, replaced bushes, painted 200 fence posts, removed stumps, and filled in various hazardous holes in the cemetery.
According to Brandon: "The many experiences I’ve had in scouting has helped me develop as a person, and will help me handle
some of the challenges I face in the future."
2013: Kevin Loitz
Kevin began his scouting journey the summer going into First grade with Cub Scout’s Pack 102 chartered by Southeast Elementary School. He earned all five Cub Scout ranks and the Arrow of Light, the highest award given in Cub Scouts. He then crossed over and continued with Boy Scouts Troop 2, and later transferred to Troop 2810. There Kevin attended numerous summer camps, earned 22 merit badges, held various leadership positions, enjoyed numerous camp outs, and created a unique community service project along his 10 year trail to Eagle. He also experienced a high-adventure trip trekking 55 miles in the back country of Alaska last summer with Venture Crew 101.
Kevin’s year-long Eagle Project, “Instruments For Children”, collected unwanted/unused instruments from the community, refurbished and cleaned them, and donated a total of 55 instruments to the Sycamore School District Music Department to be loaned to students who cannot afford to rent an instrument. Kevin
comments, “I am glad to be able to help other students have the opportunity to learn and experience
playing an instrument, so they can hopefully enjoy playing music as much as I do.”
2013: Jordan Peterson
Jordan Peterson, currently a Life Scout with Boy Scouts of America Troop 2810 chartered by Salem Lutheran Church in Sycamore, recently completed his Eagle Scout Project renovating the south side of the stone cross monument at Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Sycamore.
Jordan recruited several volunteers including other Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, friends from school and church, and adults to work on this project this spring, including cleaning up the cemetery in
preparation of this Eagle Project. Jordan chose to do this project for St. Mary’s Church and Mt. Carmel Cemetery because the church is very important to him; St. Mary’s Church is the church he regularly
attends and where he has been raised in the faith. Jordan comments, “I wanted to give back to St. Mary’s Church for everything they have done for me.”
This project focused on improving the area around the stone cross monument/grave marker for a former priest of St. Mary’s Church. This project entailed re-leveling the ground around the stone cross,
outlining and constructing a red stone gravel path with a border, installing a granite bench, and planting flowers and plants around the path and bench. It is hoped the community will enjoy the improvements made in this area of the cemetery for many years to come.
2015: Jacob Handel
Handel began his scouting journey in 2003 in first grade with Cub Scout Pack 102, chartered by Southeast Elementary School in Sycamore. He earned all five Cub Scout ranks and the Arrow of Light (the highest award given in Cub Scouts). He continued his trail to Eagle with Troop 2810 serving as patrol leader, scribe, quartermaster, assistant senior patrol leader, senior patrol leader, Leave No Trace Trainer and crew leader.
He joined Troop 2810 in 2010 as a founding member of the new troop. He enjoyed attending many campouts, numerous activities, and Canyon Camp Summer Camp. He also attended National Youth Leadership Training as both a participant and staff member, and experienced High Adventure trips such as the National Jamboree in 2013, the Philmont Scout Ranch in 2014 and Boundary Waters this past summer.
Handel earned 48 merit badges in his scouting career with Nature and Canoeing being his favorite badges. His interest in nature led him to choose an Eagle Project concentrated on supporting wildlife rehabilitation at Oaken Acres, a wildlife rehab facility in rural Sycamore. He removed an old wildlife structure to make room for a new gazebo educational center. He also constructed two gazebos that will be used for rehabilitation shelters for birds of prey.
2016: Jared Bunge
Jared joined Troop 2810 as a new Scout, and despite no Cub Scout experience he quickly became very involved, for he held the positions of senior patrol leader, instructor and troop guide. In addition, Jared attended National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience and the National Youth Leadership Training as both a participant and staff member. Jared earned 29 merit badges in the course of his Scouting career with robotics, wilderness survival, and first aid being his favorite badges.
He enjoyed attending many campouts, numerous activities, and Canyon Camp Summer Camp. His favorite experiences were two high adventure trips to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. The reason he enjoyed the Philmont trips so much was the beautiful scenery, and the bonding that happened among the young men on these challenging but rewarding trips.
As an alumnus of West Elementary, Jared had established a close relationship with Mary Currie, the longtime principal of the school. When she unexpectedly passed away soon after retirement, Jared wished to honor her legacy, and her love of literature, with a book drive as his Eagle project.
With the assistance of his former fifth-grade teacher, Pam Webb, and his fellow Scouts, Jared set out to collect 300 books, and advertised to the community about his book drive. He surpassed his goal and was able to collect close to 3,500 books to distribute to the students, in addition to building a bookshelf for West’s library.
A touching moment for Bunge was when Mrs. Currie’s husband came to the school to thank him. Jared was able to share this story with the public at the Sycamore History Museum’s “Faces of Sycamore” event this past summer.
He and several other young adults spoke about their contributions to the community of Sycamore, and he shared, “Scouting has its ups and downs, but the payoff is in the end, to know that I have been of constant service to others.”
2017: Cliffton Hanson
When the time came to begin planning his project, Hansen met with Peggy Doty, who works as an environmental educator through the University of Illinois Extension that partners with the DeKalb County Forest Preserve. They discussed a project that would be a teaching resource for the center.
Earlier in the year, DeKalb County Forest Preserve Superintendent Terry Hannan had requested forest preserves to do their part in caring for and encouraging native pollinators, so Hansen’s project was timely.
After researching information about native insects and their nesting habits, Hansen worked with Doty, who guided him in the design of the pollinator box. He then met with Bill Prain of Russell Woods who aided in the site preparation and securing the foundation of the structure. J.T. Anesi worked with Hansen and his fellow Scouts on the construction of the box frame. Compartments of different sizes were built into the frame, and nesting materials that are appropriate for several types of insects were added.
The paved trail at Russell Woods recently was repaired and resurfaced. There already were two educational stops on this trail and the pollinator is now the third. This project meets the needs of many native pollinators and gives the staff who work at Russell Woods the ability to educate people on the importance of caring for these small creatures.
2017: Eric Tronc
Eric's project benefited Tails Humane Society of DeKalb. He improved two main areas of the dog yard, repaired a fence and gate, and built a leash holder for the animal shelter.
Eric and Nicole Vierthaler, directors of volunteers at Tails, observed that the play group pen, the entry to the yard and the fence separating the yards needed improvements. At that time, the dogs were able to escape under the fence between the two yards as the surface was muddy and uneven with no base to prevent eroding.
Tronc laid bricks at the base of the fence to prevent the dogs from escaping, in addition to fixing the gate. He then dug out the mud and replaced it with pea gravel to provide a better surface and to prevent further mud. He also created a limestone path and removed old landscaping from the other yard to keep that area of the yard clean.
Completing this project will help not only the humane society, but also the families who adopt the dogs. Tronc’s final addition was a cedar leash holder that he built for the play yard. The leashes no longer have to be clipped to the fence, and are organized and hanging from above the fence so they do not drag on the ground.
2017: Collin Good
Good started in scouting with Pack 102 out of Southeast School, achieving his ranks of Tiger, Wolf, Bear and Webelos. He then earned his Arrow of Light award in 2011. At age 11, he crossed over into Boy Scouts and joined Troop 2810.
Along his trail to Eagle, Good served as patrol leader, assistant patrol leader, senior patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, instructor and scribe. He also attended National Youth Leadership Training at Big Timber.
Good earned a total of 34 merit badges on his trail to Eagle, which also earned him bronze and gold Eagle palms. In 2016, Good became a member of the Order of the Arrow, and achieved the Brotherhood designation.
Good attended Canyon Camp during his summers with the troop, and was serving as senior patrol leader when the troop earned the Gilwell Staff, which is awarded to the troop that shows the best scout spirit, participation, teamwork and overall, the troop with best leadership. Good also enjoyed attending a high adventure trip to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico in 2016.
Good’s Eagle project benefited Southeast Elementary. He built buddy benches for the playgrounds. The idea of the benches is to create a kinder playground culture by having a place for kids to sit if they don’t know what to do on the playground, are new to the school, or are just afraid to ask to join a game or group of kids. When other students see a child sitting on the bench, they should invite the child to join their group or sit down and get to know the child. It combats bullying and playground loneliness, and promotes awareness of the needs of others.
2017: Erik Handel
Handel began his Scouting journey in 2008, in first grade with Cub Scout Pack 102, chartered by Southeast Elementary School in Sycamore. He earned all five Cub Scout ranks and the Arrow of Light, which is the highest award given in Cub Scouts, along with all 20 Webelos activity pins. He crossed over to Troop 2810 in 2013, joining his older brothers and scoutmaster father. He enjoyed attending many campouts and activities and Canyon Camp Summer Camp.
He continued his trail to Eagle with Troop 2810, serving as an assistant senior patrol leader, patrol leader, historian, quartermaster and Leave No Trace trainer. He also attended National Youth Leadership Training as both a participant and staff member, and experienced High Adventure trips such as the Philmont Scout Ranch in 2016,the National Jamboree in 2017, and Boundary Waters in 2018. Handel also attended the National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience program at Philmont Scout Ranch and served on the staff at National Youth Leadership Training as quartermaster.
Handel was inducted into the Order of the Arrow in 2015 and has earned 35 merit badges. For his Eagle project, Handel built 12 four-chamber nursery bat houses that were placed in various DeKalb County Forest Preserves. The houses were deemed very important because the population of bats has been on the decline because of the spreading of white nose syndrome. Although the specific bats in the Midwest are not specified as endangered, their numbers have gone down. These houses give bats a safe place to live year-round in addition to making sure they are not disturbed during hibernation.
2017: Elliott Marsh
For his eagle project, Elliott Marsh built six floor-to-ceiling storage units at two of the residential homes in Sycamore operated through Opportunity House.
Opportunity House is a nonprofit organization in DeKalb County that helps adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities lead happy, healthy and productive lives by providing developmental training, a sheltered workshop and 24-hour residential care. Each home in Sycamore has individual bedrooms for eight adults with developmental disabilities and is handicap accessible. After consulting with Carol Parsons, program director at Opportunity House, they came up with the project and Marsh assembled funds through donations from extended family.
Marsh and other volunteers built three storage units into two separate houses, totaling six floor-to-ceiling shelving units in all. The frames of the shelves were first assembled over the course of a few weeks at Marsh’s home before being transferred to Opportunity House. Over several more work days, the frames were affixed to legs and then put into place. The shelving units are very large and were secured to the ceiling for safety.
The units allow the homes to secure an individual’s personal belongings and general household items that are not in current use.
2017: Austin Bunge
Bunge’s project focused on Fairdale, which was hit by an EF4 tornado on April 9, 2015. Bunge had a “Franklin Township Park” sign made by Banner Up Signs in Sycamore and paid for by Franklin Township Park District via a grant from the DeKalb County Long Term Recovery Corp. Many individuals and organizations donated materials such as topsoil, mulch, and limestone to aid in the project.
Volunteers from Sycamore Troop 2810 and Kirkland Pack 82 worked at the park in Fairdale to remove the remaining grass from the landscape area and to lay limestone and a concrete block border around the landscape area. They spread topsoil and planted hostas, carnations, marigolds, lilies, bleeding hearts, irises, echinaceas and peony plants.
They installed the park sign and relocated the commemorative rock which thanks Bill Nicklas and the DeKalb County Long Term Recovery Corp. for their assistance in rebuilding Fairdale. They then spread the mulch in the landscape area and the project was finished by watering the plants using the garden hose and water supply of a neighbor.
2018: Sam Frankovich
Sam Frankovich completed his Eagle project by building a storage shed to benefit Cornerstone Christian Academy before he and his family moved out of the area.
Cornerstone is a private Christian school in Sycamore that Frankovich attended. After recognizing a need, he spoke to administrator Tom Olmstead and facilities director Drew Whitfield and they planned out the storage project. Wanting to make the shed permanent and sturdy, they arranged for a concrete floor to be poured and the materials needed to create the barn-like building. All told, the project budget was planned to total $4,000, a substantial sum. The school pledged $2,000, if Frankovich could fundraise the additional $2,000. He did so with the help of his family, school and church community.
After the building permit was obtained, several work days with volunteers were planned, with Boy Scout of America regulations followed in regards to youth using power tools. After the concrete foundation was laid and set, the 12-by-20-foot storage shed was constructed with rafters and siding on the outside. Now the school has a secure place to store their sports equipment, extra chairs and riding mower, which is a huge help to the academy.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse