Eagle Scout honor within reach

UPDATE May 25, 2016:

After years of hard work, junior Nevan Gonzalez has reached the top position in Boy Scouts and will receive his Eagle Scout. Gonzalez will officially receive this honor at St. Anthony’s School on June 2. Please congratulate Gonzalez on his achievement in the comment section below.

Adolescence and childhood is a time of growth. Throughout this time, children are given a variety of choices in order to facilitate this process. One such program which is focused toward the growth of young boys, is the Boy Scouts of America. A true Boy Scout perseveres through the years, and that is just what junior Nevan Gonzalez has done.

The National Eagle Scout Association (NESA) is an alumni association for men who are becoming Eagle Scouts. The corporation was created to help the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to get more interested in their own program. For most Boy Scouts it takes them most of their lifetime to become an Eagle Scout. However,  for Gonzalez, it only took him two years to lead him in that direction.

Gonzalez has been a part of BSA for two years. His goal in this association is to become an Eagle Scout, the highest advancement rank in Boy Scouting. Brian Cameron, the leader of Gonzalez’s Troop #223, has been a troop leader for 15 years. Cameron says that there are many ranks before Eagle Scout and that a limited amount of Eagles Scouts have been produced over the last few years.

“The Rank of Eagle Scout is the end of the sequence of the following ranks,” Cameron says. “Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star Scout, Life Scout, & finally Eagle Scout. Troop 223 at St. Anthony of Padua church has produced at least three dozen Eagle Scouts over the last 10-15 years.”

According to Gonzales, to receive the Rank of an Eagle, you must accomplish certain things in your troop.

“ You must have at least 22 merit badges, 12 Eagle and 10 non-Eagle merit badges,” Gonzalez said. “In addition you must complete a service project that you have to take leadership in and you must find ways to fund your project.” 

Cameron believes that Gonzalez will make a great Eagle Scout. Cameron says that Nevan is a good scout for many reasons; among them is his desire to give service to his troop, his community, his church, and his fellow scouts.

“Nevan took full advantage of the experience & wisdom of the older scouts in the Troop to learn his Scout craft/Outdoor skills,” Cameron said, “and then took advantage of the BSA National Youth Leadership Training which is a one week program that provides leadership training to scouts.”

Gonzalez has completed all of the necessary tasks except for the service project. In order for an Eagle Candidate to finish his project, he needs to identify, plan, and execute a complete service project which benefits the community and exhibits leadership. The Boy Scout Council must first approve of the project before executing the project. Gonzalez thought long and hard about what to do for his project, but in the end he decided to help another school.

Gonzalez is repairing the baseball backstop at St. Anthony’s School Field. Gonzalez knows that this project will cost a lot of money, Oct. 17 and 18.

“I have to raise about $751.55 for all the supplies, materials, and tools needed for the project,” Gonzalez said. In order for him to complete this project and become an Eagle Scout, he needs help from others.

He will work on the project from one to six, Oct. 17. Later he will work on the project from 8 a.m. to noon and 2-6 p.m., Oct. 18.

After Nevan has completed his Eagle Project and all of his Eagle Scout Rank requirements are completed, he will appear before an Eagle Scout Board of Review for a final sign off. This Eagle Board of Review consists of 3-4 adults that volunteer at the Fresno Sequoia Boy Scout Council.

Contact Nevan Gonzalez via email [email protected] and cell (559) 765-7653 if you can help on either day. For a past Eagle Scout nominee, check out COLUMN: Mohun shares personal inspiration for Eagle Scout dream.