WILMINGTON — They started their journey together and they became Eagles together.
Colton Myers, Caleb Miller, Bryce Hensley, Jackson Walker, and Ben Smith all got their start in Cub Scout Troop 155. Now all will have achieved the rank of Eagle Scout this year.
Alex Hensley (merit badge counselor and father of Bryce) and Kevin Myers (Scoutmaster and father of Colton) couldn’t be prouder of these five who went from being rambunctious kids to responsible leaders.
“I had the opportunity to be their den leader then. They’ve been in there since the first grade and they’ve never stopped. They’ve done everything together,” said Alex Hensley.
The two leaders told the News Journal that the original troop had roughly 15 members, then down to eight, with ultimately five that stayed.
“It’s been a good time,” said Kevin Myers.
Caleb Miller was the first to get his Eagle Scout rank, followed by Ben Smith (who also achieved the record number of merit badges — 50), then Colton Myers, Bryce Hensley, and Jackson Walker will get his soon.
The reason they’re not happening all at once is that the process of becoming an Eagle Scout is done on their own time.
“Some accelerate faster than others,” said Alex Hensley. “A lot of it has to do with the parents. They have busy schedules; most families are two working parents. So, getting them to meetings and outings and all that stuff is tough sometimes.”
Kevin Myers told the News Journal what makes these five so special.
“I’ve been doing this job for 15 years … I’ve seen a lot of boys come through. But this is my first time seeing five boys from a patrol come from Tiger all the way through together and make Eagle Scout,” he said.
The two believe that the boys’ time as scouts has greatly contributed to who they are now, and their futures.
“It’s amazing and so much fun to see that growth. It rounds the kids off. They can get exposed to anything and it fleshes out what school can’t provide,” said Hansley.
They highlighted that Bryce is going into ROTC, and Jackson will be going into culinary school.
“One of the key roles of the Scouts is to instill leadership in young people. Out of these five, three of them were my senior patrol leader. That rank actually runs the troop. They all did a great job,” said Myers.
Anyone with kids interested in scouting should visit scouting.org.
