A flock of Eagles

Local troop has five Eagle Scout hopefuls

By Jennifer Eisenbart

Staff writer

To become an Eagle Scout is a long and involved process.

It requires a minimum number of merit badges, including Citizen in the Community, Nation and World, plus personal fitness.

It asks you be active in your troop, and demonstrate you live by the principals of the Scout Oath of the Boy Scouts of America.

For Matt DeFaut, it is also a family calling. When his current project is finished and approved, he will be the second member of his family to receive the Eagle Scout rank. His brother Billy was the first, and the two were inspired to pursue the rank by their grandfather.

“He thought it was a big achievement,” explained Matt. “It took a lot of effort to get there.”

The boys’ grandfather died in 2003, before either Billy or Matt worked on their Eagle Scout projects. But now, as the approval process for Matt’s project winds down, the presence of the DeFaut family in Burlington – and Eagle Scouts in Burlington in general – is worth noting.

DeFaut’s troop – 303, led by Scoutmaster Scott Edwards – has five scouts in the midst of the Eagle Scout process.

All have completed various community service projects within the Burlington area, including Matt’s contribution – a separate small-dog area at the Burlington Dog Park.

Edwards called the situation of having five teenagers going for the rank at the same time “amazing.”

“To have five get it at one time is just unbelievable, and just speaks to all the adults in the troop and all the support they’ve given to the kids over the years.

“And it speaks to the kids,” Edwards added. “For a teenager to do something like that, it’s just unbelievable.”

Matt got the idea about making an improvement to the dog park by speaking with a Dog Park Committee member. He and his family have used the dog park for years, most recently bringing their 1-year-old Labradoodle Jasmine and 4-year-old Chocolate Lab Amber to the park.

“It seems to be a good place for them to bring their dogs,” Matt said. “A lot of people will call people up and come down here with their dogs.

“It’s kind of a relaxing place.”

But as the dog park use has increased, it also has shown a need for smaller dogs to have an area of their own – which they now have. The 100-by-30 foot area is separated from the main dog park by a 3-foot-high fence and a locked service gate.

Small dogs and their owners must enter through a separate gate that opens to the parking lot of the facility.

Matt estimated the cost of the project to be about $1,000, with most contributions coming from the community, family and friends. A use of a Bobcat was also donated by CAT Construction.

Edwards has had large groups of Eagle Scouts come through before, and it is largely luck that this large of a group is going for Scouting’s highest rank at one time. The projects range from the dog park fence to squirrel houses made for Fellow Mortals wildlife rehab center and replacing signs at the Richard Bong Recreation Area.

The other four going for Eagle Scout are Evan Schiltz, Alex Nazarkewich, Austin Hough and Andy Meyer.

“It all kind of just hit this fall,” said Edwards, who just recently finished his Scoutmaster meetings with all five. Now, the projects need to go through a district board of review, as well as get approval from the district and national councils.

He also thought that the DeFaut family having two Eagle Scouts was pretty special.

“It’s really cool to have two Eagle Scouts in a family,” Edwards said. “The requirements are not easy to get there.”