Older Brother Davis Crume’s Eagle Project Also Benefited Heritage; Younger Brother Donovan Also Is Expected To Go For His Eagle
Our heartfelt congratulations go out to Meadow Pointe resident and Wiregrass Ranch High junior Dylan Crume, age 17, who recently earned the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout.
Dylan’s Eagle project was the installation of four bird feeders at New Tampa’s Heritage Elementary. According to Heritage Gifted K-5 teacher Jean Josephson, Dylan and many of his fellow Scouts in Troop 148, which meets at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church, installed “bird feeders/boxes with flower boxes to attract more birds and pollinators to our campus. Dylan researched ideas for his project, put together a fund raiser to purchase all of the supplies, met with me several times in person and by email to discuss his ideas and beautifully executed the installation.”
“Mrs. Josephson needed some help, so I offered my services to help make their outdoor classroom look better,” Dylan says.
Dylan, whose older brother Davis also earned his Eagle Scout rank and also did an Eagle project that benefited Heritage (he created a micro-irrigation system at the school), says that the project took about three months to complete, from conception to conclusion, and that he appreciated the help of his Scoutmaster Jay Sheridan, his Eagle mentor David Thompson and all of the other Scouts in Troop 148 (see photo below) who helped him with the project.
For those who don’t know, Eagle is the highest rank a Scout can achieve, and only 5 or 6% of all Boy Scouts earn the recognition. An estimated two million Scouts have earned the rank since the Boy Scouts of America were founded in 1912. Here are the requirements for earning the Eagle:
• Earning at least 21 merit badges, including 13 Eagle-required ones, covering subjects like personal fitness, environmental science, public speaking, citizenship and financial management.
• Learning valuable morals and life-lessons alongside friends, as they work together to overcome challenges.
• Serving as a leader within their troop by taking charge of a patrol.
• Learning to independently plan itineraries for campouts, backpacking trips and troop excursions.
• Competing as a unit against other troops in exhilarating, large-scale scout “camporees.”
• Involving themselves in service by volunteering with local organizations and making valuable connections with community leaders.
• Coordinating and leading a large-scale volunteer project for the betterment of their community (the Eagle Project).
Colleges, businesses, the military and community service leaders all respect an Eagle Scout. This performance-based achievement has high standards that not everyone will earn.
Dylan’s parents told me they are “super proud of Dylan and his Eagle Project,” and that their youngest son Donovan also plans to go for his Eagle. I don’t know what the numbers are, but I’m betting there are very few families with three Eagle Scouts.
Dylan says he plans to become a firefighter, so service to the community is obviously in his blood. He also says he plays varsity lacrosse and plays tenor sax in Marching Bulls marching band. He also is on the Youth Ministry Team at St. Mark’s.
So, congrats again, Dylan. The Neighborhood News salutes you!