It’s official — Morgan has earned his Eagle Scout Award.
Morgan, 15, is a member of Troop 72. For his Eagle service project, he built a rolling storage unit for the St. Charles West wrestling team to hold wrestling equipment. His Eagle Court of Honor was held June 9.
The City of St. Charles School District even included a congratulations in its June newsletter. At St. Charles West, Morgan is involved in band, wrestling, cross country and track.
And then there was the speech.
When Tyler became Troop 72’s 77th Eagle, Morgan said he wanted to be number 88. He had to settle for number 85.
He had come a long way from being the “atomic ducks” tag-along little brother to becoming a respected member of the troop. By then we had already watched him conquer a high ropes course even when he could barely reach the transitions, earn a varsity letter in a sport he loved as a freshman, and keep pushing through challenge after challenge.
Earning Eagle at 14 was impressive, but by then we had started to expect impressive things from him.
We reminded him that Eagle was not the end of the road. He still had the chance to lead, to serve through Order of the Arrow, to stay active in the troop and to be an example for the younger scouts coming behind him.
Most of all, we wanted him to look around at the room full of people who had gathered to celebrate him and remember that none of his future journeys would have to be made alone. Scouting had given him a whole community of people who would be there when the road got bumpy — just as he would be there for them.
Congratulations, Morgan.
After the ceremony: Mary shared a “Morgan Eagle Scout Ceremony” album with 88 photographs from the day. The recovered Gmail archive also preserves the Eagle speech written the night before, including the line, “Morgan, look at this sea of faces gathered here today to support you.”
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