When the Yankee Clipper Scout Council hosted close to 400 people last week at a gathering to honor the 177 Boy Scouts who earned their Eagle badge last year, an Eagle Scout from more than four decades ago served as featured honoree, and could talk firsthand about scouting leading to community leadership.
Longtime Scout leader Thomas P. Kehoe — chairman of Manchester's Board of Selectmen and the Eagle Scout Class of 2011's honoree — said the gathering at the Wyndham Boston Andover hotel was also to recognize parents, scoutmasters and other adult mentors who helped each of the young men achieve Scouting's highest honor.
"Tonight's a celebration of a lot of hard work by people from around the region, because it is a difficult task to get to the top," said Kehoe, 63, a retired school teacher who earned his Eagle Scout award nearly 46 years ago with Troop 3 in Manchester, a troop that continues today.
Among those earning Scouting's highest honor last year were 13 Eagles from Cape Ann's four communities.
The local Eagle Scouts are:
Gloucester: Michael Mortillaro, Troop 60; Daniel Wood, Troop 112.
Essex: Michael McCollum and Eric Wright, Troop 39.
Manchester: Kevin Cellucci, Connor Howlett, Andres Ramirez and Tyler Rossi, Troop 3.
Rockport: Brian Amero, David Fox, Issac Perry, Brendan Pratt and Grant Weaver, Troop 20.
"Only 4 percent of the people who join the Scouting movement become Eagles," Kehoe noted. "It takes someone who can start a task and continue to work on that task for five or six years, before it's completed.
"You also have to recognize the dedication of the Scout leaders and parents because they all had to be working together to make this happen," he said.
Kehoe credited the Eagle badge with having a significant impact on his life and professional career.
"I was the seventh Eagle Scout in the history of my troop and my troop has 115 who have made it," noted Kehoe, who has played a major role as a mentor to many of those Eagles over the years while serving as scoutmaster and more recently assistant scoutmaster of Troop 3.
More than 2 million young men have earned the Eagle rank during a century of Boy Scouting. Famous American recipients of the honor include former astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon; Gerald R. Ford, 38th president of the U.S.; Dr. William C. DeVries, who transplanted the first artificial heart; Steven Spielberg, a top film director and producer; Henry Aaron, Hall of Fame baseball player and home run king; and Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart.
This marks the 100th anniversary of the first Eagle Scout Award, Kehoe noted.
Mark E. Vogler may be contacted at mvogler@gloucestertimes.com
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