Troop 223 Holds Eagle Court of Honor

Share Story :

Scoutmaster Mike Lanning addresses the 25 Eagle Scouts during the Court of Honor ceremony.

Troop 223 held its Eagle Court of Honor on November 21, at Saint Matthews gymnasium, with 25 young men recognized for their Eagle Scout accomplishment.

Mike Lanning became Scoutmaster in 1953 and over the past 70 years has helped raise youth in this town. He told those assembled that “If this country has any questions about whether the future of the county is going to be bright and secure, look at people like this,” and pointed to the new Eagle Scouts.

To earn the rank of Eagle Scout, a Scout must be an active Life Scout holding a leadership position in their troop for at least six months and provide multiple references who can attest to how they have lived the Scout Oath and Scout Law.

They must also earn a total of 21 merit badges, including 13 required badges such as First Aid, Citizenship in the Community, and Environmental Science or Sustainability, as well as conduct a service project which benefits their community or an organization other than the Boy Scouts of America.

Finally, Scouts must participate in a Scoutmaster conference and complete a board of review. According to the BSA, a beginning scout working straight through the program could complete all the requirements to achieve Eagle in approximately 19 months.

Lanning in his remarks told the young men that he knew they were going to hit rough times as they progressed in their lives, but urged them to find the force within that they all possess. “The force is individual. It’s yours. You built it,” Lanning said, and the “force is indefatigable.”

It was a family affair at the Eagle Scout Court of Honor as parents Peter and Suzanne Freyer celebrate with son Nolan.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN

Earning the prestigious Eagle Scout rank and their project were:  Easan Babber and Nicholas Kawena Quilici (Oaks Christian). Babber built reading benches for Level UP L.A. and Kawena constructed an urban greenhouse for Upward Bound.

Students from Palisades Charter High School were: Logan Robert Eskigian, Samson Xavier Plant, Charles Keawe Roarke, Luca Rosenmayr, Joshua Maclean Snyder, Odino Florino Spadavecchia and Jackson Levin Terris.

Eskigian weeded and planted five oak trees at Paul Revere Middle School. He also installed a trail made with woodchips and added shrubs.

Logan Eskigian with his parents Gina and Luke.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN

Plant worked on Palisades-Malibu YMCA project; Roarke worked with the Apex Protection Project to save wolves.

Rosenmayr worked with Wings for Life (cure for spinal cure injuries)

Spadavecchia built four cedar raised garden beds for the VA Heroes Golf Course on the West L.A. Veteran’s Administration campus and Snyder also worked at VA.

Terris built three dog houses for rescue dogs adopted in the City of Compton. “It helps people who adopted dogs but were unable to purchase a well-constructed shelter.” He built them with high-grade wood and shingled the dog houses.

Students who attend Loyola include: Nolan Preston Freyer, Samuel Ross Harris III, Charles Eric Kline, Jack Alexander Musitano, Rishad Behram Vahaiwalla and Ethan Youn.

Freyer, who volunteers at the Santa Monica Boys & Girls Club, designed and built two planters and a bench. “I returned to assist the children with planting,” he said.

Harris constructed and installed a sign for St. Martin of Tours Church; Kline renovated the infant room at St. Matthew’s Parish Church by installing new shelves and painting the room.

Charlie Kline with his grandparents Christal and Dale Neal.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN

Musitano built a nativity stable for St. Paul the Apostle’s Community. He upcycled the wood for his project from an Italian Stone Pine tree. The parish’s 100 + year-old tree had fallen.

Vaghaiwalla built benches and arranged a rose and sage garden on the West L.A. VA for “those who have served and those who have cared for them.”

Youn worked on a project for the Alexandria House, which has a transitional housing program for women and children. He constructed tables and benches for the playground area. The tables would also be used for homework and tutoring sessions.

Viewpoint High Schools Declan Seamus Sommer Childress worked on a bat conservation project. He constructed and installed bat habitats (boxes) for St. Matthews as well as giving several to private homes that abut parks.

James Fields Coleman who attends Harvard-Westlake repaired and restored the perimeter fence at the Corpus Christi parish rectory and convent.

Jim congratulated by his father Craig Coleman.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN

New West Charter High School students Jared Milton Gold and Lucas Raphael Evan Gold worked on projects at the West L.A. VA.

Jared Gold with parents Craig and Marietta.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN

Andrew George Kibler, who attends Avon Old Farms School, built bookcases for the Covenant House, that provides housing for youth who were formerly homeless.

Proctor Academy’s Brendan O’Malley received recognition in the Sullivan Canyon newsletter for his project. With help from 17 Scouts, who worked under him, he sanded and stained eight tables, one fence, riding step-ups and a tractor shed.

Hayden Prince (Brentwood School) built screech owl nesting boxes for the parish of St. Matthews. Owls are a way to safely take care of rodents without the use of anticoagulant rodenticide.

St. George’s School’s Howard Theodore Rowen worked with Ahead with Horses: Justin Patrick Pack (Jesuit Preparatory School) worked with the British Home.

Colby Parker Rubin (Calabasas High School) worked at the Watts Empowerment Center, which runs an active afterschool program that helps hundreds of children in South Central Los Angeles. Rubin let a group of Scouts in building a series of cubby bookshelves. “We built them from scratch and produced three dozen individual compartments for the youngsters,” Rubin said.

Colby Rubin with dad Sam.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN

Share Story :