bporterfield@pvdemocrat.com —
Earning the rank of Eagle Scout is the highest honor one can achieve in the Boy Scouts of America. It’s an even bigger deal when four of those awards are given to members of the same family.
That’s the case for the four sons of Tim and Karon Smith, longtime Pauls Valley residents who last year moved to the northern Texas city of Grapevine.
In a special ceremony held here in PV, their 18-year-old son Parker Smith was presented his Eagle Scout regalia.
Along with his parents, Parker’s three older brothers — Brenden, Ryan and Harrison — were also on hand to watch.
All four boys are Eagle Scouts who worked through the same scout troop here in Pauls Valley.
“It’s unusual for one family to have four Eagle Scouts,” said their dad Tim, a longtime community activist in PV.
“When we tell people we have four Eagle Scouts they say ‘wow,’” he said.
“It’s a very select group of people who earn an Eagle Scout. The reason for that is when you’re 16, 17 years old camping and things like that are not always on your mind.
“For a young man it’s a real commitment for both them and their family. One Eagle Scout is a great deal. Having four commit to it is real special.”
Parker, a longtime PV student who is now a senior in Grapevine, earned his Eagle Scout by working on a project that revitalized the iron fence that surrounds the Rotary Centennial Rose Garden in Pauls Valley.
He also placed benches around the park’s fountain area.
As for the family’s other Eagle Scout projects, Brenden worked on a local Nature Park trail, Ryan worked on a gazebo at the local hospital and Harrison refurbished a scouting campground area at PV’s Old City Lake.
Tim stresses for a young man to receive the award he must earn a required number of merit badges over a prolonged period of training, outdoor activities, class study and life experiences.
The culmination of that “journey” is the completion of an Eagle Scout project which entails that scout work, not only with the local scout troop and area scouting council but also other local and city entities.
According to Tim, only around 5 percent of scouts go on to the earn the rank of Eagle Scout.
“Scouting is a great organization,” Tim said.
“That Eagle Scout is a defining thing for these boys,” he said.
“It’s wonderful preparation for college because they have to work with so many entities to get a project done.”
He added officials with the city of PV were helpful in all his sons’ Eagle Scout projects.
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