A total of 457 boys from the Denver metro area will be honored at an awards banquet this evening for their achievement in becoming an Eagle Scout — a title that only 5 percent of Boy Scouts attain.
Each scout had to earn at least 21 merit badges, demonstrate leadership, service and outdoor skills, and perform an individual Eagle project to receive the honor. Their efforts added up to more than 84,535 volunteer service hours, which is estimated to have contributed $1,827,646 to their communities. It can take years to complete all of the requirements, but they all must be accomplished before the scout turns 18.
“Becoming an Eagle Scout is monumental for a young man. It becomes a key differentiator in his life,” said John Cabeza, Scout Executive/CEO for the Boy Scouts of America, Denver Area Council, in a statement.
In addition to the 457 new Eagle Scouts, the banquet will bestow three area business leaders with the Outstanding Eagle Scout Award.
This year’s recipients are Terrance D. Carroll, the 54th Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, who was Colorado’s first Speaker of the House, and an attorney with Greenberg Traurig, LLP; Ralph W. Christie, Jr., chairman, president, and CEO of Merrick & Company, who has served on a variety of business and leadership councils in Colorado; and Martin Zinn III, owner of the mineral show production company Martin Zinn Expositions LLC.
Kristen Leigh Painter: 303-954-1638 or kpainter@denverpost.com
