Twenty-five members of Boy Scout Troop 223 were awarded the rank of Eagle Scout at a Court of Honor dinner and ceremony at St. Matthew’s Parish School’s Sprague Center on Nov. 25.
Eagle Scout Bradley Hubsch (2012) convened the Court of Honor and Kevin Iacopino, a fourth-year scout and Senior Patrol Leader, presented the Colors and Flag Salute. Colum Yeh, another fourth year scout and Senior Patrol Leader gave the Invocation and congratulatory citations from the White House, the United States House of Representatives, Senator Dianne Feinstein and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti were read by first-year scouts Spencer Flippen, Cole Hillyer, Lukas Richards and Nathan Russell.
Photo: Richard Klein
The evening’s guest speaker was Hugh Travis, an Eagle Scout who was instrumental in negotiating with other Boy Scout Councils and the Catalina Island Company to build Camp Emerald Bay into what it is today for scouts throughout California. Travis recognized Troop 223 as a flagship troop, saying “there is none better in the entire country than 223” and applauded longtime Palisadian Scoutmaster Mike Lanning for creating such a wonderful legacy.
The ceremony continued as each new Eagle Scout was introduced with a presentation written and delivered by an older Eagle Scout.
The young men started working towards their Eagle Scout rank in fifth grade, each earning a minimum of 21 badges, attending weekly meetings and monthly campouts, serving in a leadership position within the troop and participating in week-long summer programs at Emerald Bay on Catalina Island and two high-adventure backpacking trips. Additionally, Scouts must plan and execute a 100-hour service project involving other Scouts that benefits a community organization. The young men, mostly sophomores and juniors in high school, must also demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath and Law.
The projects performed this past year included a variety of activities that benefitted 15 different community organizations.
Christopher Castaneda renovated the Japanese Gardens and Jason Simon rebuilt and refinished benches at the Bandini Foundation Heroes Golf Course at the Brentwood VA.
Harrison Aronoff sanded and sealed six new cedar picnic tables at Palisades Jewish Early Childhood Center. Marquez Elementary School received railings for additional storage cabinets in classrooms thanks to the efforts of James Dameris. Nicholas Frey built a removable bed cover for the school’s garden and a gated entrance to the STAR building was built by Michael Stokdyk. Jack Holt built an irrigation system at Paul Revere Middle School.
Mitchell Algert rebuilt a decaying staircase at St. Matthew’s Parish School where Maxwell Goldman also installed a water-efficient sprinkler system, James Kanoff restored the prayer garden and Kenton Sheridan created a finished library bookshelf system and cataloged all the books in the Parish Library. Jack Strome designed and constructed an outdoor learning center and Jackson Wong built 12 new rolling wooden storage bins at St. Matthew’s Thrift Shop.
Scott Feldsted constructed a bridge, stormwater catchment dam and trails for an outdoor classroom at Calvary Christian School. Collin Ferrara’s project benefitted the Crystal Mandel and the Vista Del Mar School where he built a new garden facility. Charles Trout improved Corpus Christi Church and School’s Emergency Preparedness Project by inventorying and replenishing all rescue supplies, painting walkways and sanitizing and replenishing emergency preparedness water barrels. St. Anne School was the beneficiary of projects by Anthony Bouza who built a portable composting and recycling system and Bradley Hall who designed and built wood cabinets for students and teachers to store 58 violins and 20 violas.
Jai Bailey built a large wooden community table for use in the lobby of the Palisades-Malibu YMCA, which also benefited from the projects of Spencer Hylen who built wagons to transport pumpkins at the annual Pumpkin Patch and Joseph Waxtein, who built shelves and increased the storage area available at Simon Meadow.
Jack Cortese created 40 feet of new shelving for the warehouse of the Westside Food Bank. Kenta Kagan’s project benefited the Palisades Farmer’s Market and the American Red Cross when he conducted emergency preparedness demonstrations and presented materials to residents. Kehillat Israel was the beneficiary of a project by William Lewis, who built shelving for and organized four storage rooms, the first Eagle Project completed at this synagogue. The California Wildlife Center was the beneficiary of a project by Andrew Steele, who built enclosures and perches for rescued birds of prey.
Scoutmaster Lanning, who has guided the troop for more than 60 years, closed the ceremony by discussing the new expectations and responsibilities bestowed on an Eagle Scout and the opportunities that await these young men. Lanning has now advanced more than 700 Eagle Scouts – more than any other Scoutmaster in the country.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
