According to the “Legend of Eagle Mountain” a young boy stands at a trailhead and views the mountain before him. The trail before him leads upward till it vanishes into the sky, but not before the boy sees other young men and boys who had taken the trail. They urge the boy to take the trail.
Climbing the mountain is difficult, but the boy continues on his way to the top of the mountain and sees those who followed him. As he surveys the view from the mountain, he realizes there are more mountains to be climbed, but they will be easier to scale, since he has learned much from climbing the first mountain. The story is a reflection of the journey boys take through Boy Scouts to achieve the goal of Eagle Scout, the highest rank in scouting.
The latest young man in the area to earn the rank of Eagle Scout is Kevin Pill. He chose as his project painting and scraping curbs and fire hydrants in the area around the Village Commons in North Riverside.
While Kevin is a Broadview resident, he attends Mater Christi School and his scouting years have been with the North Riverside scouts. His reason for choosing the project was to give back to the residents of North Riverside and Mayor Richard Scheck, who have been so supportive of the scouting program.
The Eagle Project, once he decided what he was going to do, was similar to the boy climbing the mountain since there were many steps in the process. First, Kevin needed to get village approval, which meant submitting a request in writing as well as in person. He worked closely with the village and assembled his own team of helpers to beautify the Commons area. The helpers alone spent a total of over 96 hours on the project. Part of the project included keeping a log of time spent from start to finish which totaled 123 hours and 35 minutes.
Once a project is completed, the Eagle Scout candidate must make a presentation before a review board. Kevin also earned the required merit badges needed for the rank, and received his Eagle badge at a Court of Honor ceremony attended by family and friends who had gathered at the North Riverside Commons.
Kevin still has many more mountains to climb. He will be graduating from Mater Christi School in June and will be attending Fenwick High School. He hopes to continue his education at the University of Illinois-Champaign and would like to become an engineer.
While he was active at Mater Christi, he still found time to take Patrol Leader training and is presently a quartermaster and den chief. He also keeps time for golf, which he has been playing since he was 8 years old.
His climb up the mountain in scouting began in 1997 when he first became a Cub Scout. Eagle Scout Kevin Pill has many more mountains to climb, but believes what he has learned through scouting and the Scout law will help carry him through the many paths his life will take.
Next month, four young men who are members of St. Mary’s Troop 92 will be receiving their Eagle rank: Jonathan Bauer, Mark Bensfield, Kendrick Gawne and Geoffrey Schnorr at the Eagle Court of Honor. The Eagle Court of Honor will take place at St. Mary’s Parish Center on June 12.
