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Island teen completes Eagle Scout project

By Staff | Dec 28, 2010

MARIANNE PATON St. James City resident Cameron Swartz recently completed his Eagle Scout project with a donation to the Calusa Land Trust

Achieving the honor of Eagle Scout status is a goal many members of Boy Scouts of America strive to attain. The highest award presented by BSA, this accomplishment takes years of hard work and dedication to obtain and island resident, Cameron Swartz, 14, will soon be counted among those who have succeeded in this lofty goal. Before completing the final stages of qualification for Eagle Scout, the young men must earn a minimum of 21 merit badges, 12 of which are specific to the Eagle Scout requirements, and according to Swartz many of the badges he found easy to obtain, while others posed challenges.

“My goal is to eventually become a veterinarian, so three of the badges that involved pets were pretty easy for me,” Swartz said. “The hardest one was for personal management badge which is one of the 12 that are required for Eagle Scout. For this badge I had to keep track of my income and expenses and make sure that I wasn’t spending more than I earned. It involved a lot of paperwork and time to complete.”

In addition to merit badges, to obtain the Eagle, the scout must complete an extensive service project in his community. Swartz decided he would put his effort into a donation to the Calusa Land Trust.

“When my neighbor, Ron Wesorick, heard that I was looking for a project to earn my Eagle, he told me about a project that was being considered by the Calusa Land Trust,” said Swartz. “It would involve constructing three park benches along the trail at St. Judes Trail in St. James City. It took a lot of planning and we even had to do some of the work at home, because there is no electricity at the trail and then transport the benches to St. Judes.”

Swartz began his project in July by walking the trail and establishing what would be needed for materials and where the benches would be placed.

“With my dad’s help, we decided that two of the benches would be placed near the head of the trail and the third would be about half way down the trail,” Swartz said. “These benches would provide resting places for hikers and also serve as memorials or honors for contributors to the project.”

Before beginning his project, Swartz had to obtain approval from his scout master, the Calusa Land Trust and the BSA board. Swartz then set to work by visiting the Scout House in Fort Myers to obtain the materials needed for his project. On Saturday, Nov. 28, Swartz enlisted the assistance of his fellow scouts and adult volunteers to finish the construction and placement of the benches.

“When Cameron approached me about his project, I thought, his timing couldn’t be more perfect,” said Calusa Land Trust member, Ron Wesorick. “We were in need of more benches along St. Jude Trail. He went over to the trail and measured the existing benches and purchased the materials. Along with his father and other scouts from his troop, they constructed the benches and installed them on the trail.”

While most scouts scramble to meet the cut-off of age 18 to rank Eagle, Swartz will be among the youngest in the area to attain his at age 14. Swartz currently a ninth grade student Mariner High School and began scouting at the age of 10. In addition to scouting, Swartz also has served as a volunteer at the Taste of Pine Island, participated in a carwash to benefit the Pine Island Food Pantry, volunteered for work projects with the Calusa Land Trust, assisted at the Beacon of HOPE and has volunteered during several memorial services on the island. Swartz is now awaiting a decision by the BSA board and will be reviewed before the board prior to the presentation of his Eagle Scout ranking.

“I am kind of nervous about meeting in front of the board,” Swartz said. “I will have to face them alone and I am told that my uniform must be perfect, right down to the kind of socks I wear.”

As for the benefits of Scouting, Swartz felt it was a good experience for anyone.

“There is no reason not to be a scout. I learned so much and there is plenty of physical fitness involved,” Swartz said. We learned survival skills and how to handle just about any emergency. But, most important, is we learned to trust others. This was very important because many of our projects involved working together as a team.”

Swartz also was awarded with the Lee County Sheriff’s Department Do the Right Thing award while attending Pine Island Elementary School and has a letter for his participation in the Mariner swim team.

The Pine Island Boy Scout Troop 20 meets each Wednesday evening at the Pine Island United Methodist Church at 7 p.m. For more information, call Scout Master, Mel Brinson at 994-0144.