submitted by Andy Zlotnick
The two newest Eagle Scouts of Troop 222 are Nick Despart and Timothy Shupe, who completed their Eagle boards of review on November 21, 2014 and were recognized by the Troop on April 11 in a Double Eagle Ceremony held at the Berlin High School.
In attendance at the ceremony were many very important dignitaries and family members. Tim Shupe and Nick Despart also achieved special recognition for earning the Bronze palm, an additional achievement above and beyond the Rank of Eagle. The Eagle Rank is considered to be one of the greatest achievements in Scouting Having two Scouts in the same troop earn Eagle at the same time is an amazing feat.
Tim Shupe completed an Eagle service project benefitting the Berlin Library by building a beautiful Bluestone patio behind the library and Nick Despart completed his Eagle service project at the Dyken Pond Center in Grafton by building a covered archery range including targets, a bow, and safety equipment. Both Eagle scouts have worked very hard to attain Scouting’s highest rank and they give back to the community that supported them so much
Along with being great Boy Scouts, Tim Shupe and Nick Despart are also members of scouting’s fraternal organization “Order of the Arrow.” The Eagle Scouts are both Arrowmen members of the Mahikan District Kittan Lodge of the OA.
Stan Brownell of The Rensselaer County Legislature honored both Tim Shupe and Nick Despart on Wednesday, April 8, with an official proclamation attesting to the great achievement for both young men upon earning the Eagle Rank in the Boy Scouts of America. Legislator Stan Brownell read from the proclamation and spoke of each boy’s accomplishments and their futures
Almost all scouts start off hoping to become Eagle scouts, but only about 6 out of 100 boys who start in scouting ever become Eagle scouts. These two new Eagle scouts are in good company. They join past Eagle scouts President Gerald R. Ford, Stephen Spielberg and Neil A Armstrong, just to mention just a few.
Troop 222 salutes the hard work, courage and determination shown by these scouts in attaining their goals and has high expectations for these young men in their future endeavors.
Tim Shupe earned 28 Merit badges including: Aviation, First Aid, Inventing and Wilderness Survival. Tim has held almost all of the leadership positions the troop has and earned several additional awards: 7 year scouting service pin, the Arrow of Light, Healthy out of School Scouting award, several Scout Sunday events, and earned the 25 hour Veteran Scouts Community Service award. Tim did all of this while maintaining a high grade point average at Berlin High School, playing baseball, running track and cross country, being a leader on the Berlin Invent Team and assisting with the development of an adaptive device for the deaf.
Nick Despart earned 31 Merit Badges including: Archery, Lifesaving Environmental Science and Snow Sports. Nick has held many leadership positions in the troop and he currently holds the position of Troop Instructor. Nick also earned several other awards: 7 year scouting service pin, Healthy out of school scouting award, Project Cope, the Arrow of Light and 25 hour Veteran Scouts Community service award. Nick also held a very high average while attending Tech Valley High school and is currently the holder of the highest GPA in his class. Nick works in his family business the Flying Arrow Sports in East Greenbush as an archery instructor and is on the Berlin JV Soccer, Varsity Baseball and Basketball teams.