By Kyle LoJacono
Staff Writer
LAND O’ LAKES — While the Boy Scouts of America Handbook states only two percent of all boys involved in scouting reach the rank of Eagle Scout, Troop 33 in Land O’ Lakes defies convention.
“We didn’t all plan to become Eagle Scouts,” said Eagle Scout Kyle Stottlemyer. “I know I just was having fun with my friends camping and doing other scout activities. It’s really cool that we’ve all done it though because it takes a long time to become an Eagle Scout.”
Kyle lives in Land O’ Lakes and has been home schooled since the third grade.
Five boys in the troop have earned the rank since 2008. They include: Adam Jones, of Land O’ Lakes; Greg Landry, of Dade City; Alex Davis, of New Tampa; Kai Gose, of Spring Hill; and Kyle. All of the boys are members of the Panther Patrol. BSA troops are broken into patrols of between five and 10 scouts.
“I wouldn’t say that we go around telling the boys they have to get Eagle or putting pressure on them to reach the rank,” said John Russell, Troop 33 Scout Master. “We give them the tools they need, and our district, the Allohak District, has merit badge classes and other resources to help the kids.”
The Allohak District comprises all Cub Scout Packs and Boy Scout Troops east of the Suncoast Parkway in Pasco County. It is part of the Gulf Ridge Council, which covers all of Pasco, Hillsborough, Hernando, Sumter, Citrus, Polk, Hardee and Highlands counties.
Troop 33 meets each Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Our Lady of the Rosary Church, located at 2348 Collier Parkway in Land O’ Lakes. The troop has scouts from Land O’ Lakes, Wesley Chapel, New Tampa and Dade City.
Russell has been Scout Master for Troop 33 since 2005. His oldest son, Chris, earned his Eagle Award in 2006, and his second son, Tim, is a Life scout.
“It goes in cycles with kids getting Eagle,” Russell said. “These boys will all be graduating from high school this year, so it was their time to get the rank if they were going to. They just overachieved as a group. It’s all because they’re great kids with strong families that have supported them.”
Boys must earn their Eagle Awards before turning 18.
There are seven ranks in BSA that include, from lowest rank to highest: Scout, Tenderfoot, Second class, First class, Star, Life and Eagle Scout. Each of the ranks has a series of requirements that must be completed to move up. There are 86 total requirements listed in the current BSA handbook.
One major requirement is earning merit badges, which requires more than most would think. An Eagle Scout must earn at least 21 badges, 12 of which are required. Each badge also has a series of requirements needed to earn it.
For example, the camping merit badge, one of the required badges for Eagle Scouts, has 10 requirements. One is to spend 20 days and nights camping at BSA campouts in tents the scout helped pitch.
The biggest step toward earning the award is the Eagle Scout project, during which the scout has to plan, develop and execute a service project for a religious or community organization or a school. There is no set amount of hours required to complete the project, but most take more than 100 hours.
“For my project I put in physical fitness stations for (San) Antonio Elementary,” Greg said. “We put in pull-up bars, balance beam, hand walk and a sit-up bench.”
Landry moved to Dade City three years ago and decided to make the weekly journey to Land O’ Lakes to stay with the troop he grew up in.
All the time put into scouting has made a lasting impression on the Panther Patrol Eagle Scouts.
“I use the things I learned in scouting every day,” Alex said. “It has been such a big part of my life. I’m hoping to get into (the University of) Florida and my entrance essay was all about scouting…It’s a great program for any kid to get into, even if they don’t make it to Eagle Scout.”
Each of the Eagle Scouts echoed Alex’s opinion on scouting, and also thanked their parents and Russell.
“They’ve all put in numerous hours to help me become an Eagle Sco
