Ewing resident Nico Grillo was honored by Boy Scout Troop 43, based in Princeton, at an Eagle Scout Court of Honor June 23, at Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton.
Grillo was one of three scouts who were formally awarded their Eagle honors by the troop’s Scoutmaster Allan Williams. Also receiving their Eagle awards were Alistair Dobson and Krishna Sivakumar of Princeton.
Ewing Township Mayor Bert Steinmann read proclamations from Ewing and Princeton townships lauding the three for their achievement. Eagle is the highest rank in Boy Scouting, and is only attained by about 4 percent of all Scouts nationwide.
Though planning and management of the required service project is the most well-known aspect of Eagle Rank, each Scout must also work over several years to earn at least 21 merit badges, demonstrate that they live by the Scout Oath and Law, and serve in leadership and positions of responsibility within their troops.
The Eagle projects conducted by Dobson, Sivakumar and Grillo were built with a total of more than 450 volunteer scout hours.
Grillo, a rising senior at the Pennington School, designed and built a new creche for St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church. Grillo integrated audio-visual equipment into his design, so that carols and music can be played from the roof of the structure, which is displayed on the front lawn of the church during the Christmas holiday season.
“The real lessons in becoming an Eagle Scout are not learned through the project, or even the process of getting the rank itself,” said Grillo. “They are learned by completing a full career of scouting. The act of becoming an Eagle does not transform a person into one who is representative of all that scouting stands for, but rather it is the people who best exemplify these qualities that become Eagles. That is why I am immensely proud to be joining this group of distinguished men.”
Princeton Boy Scout Troop 43 was formed in 1918, 10 years after the first manual on Scouting was published in England, and eight years after the boy Scouts of America was chartered in Washington, D.C. Since the formal record keeping began in 1928, the troop has graduated more than 170 Eagle Scouts.
Troop 43 meets Monday nights during the school year at Littlebrook Elementary School in Princeton at 7:30 p.m. For more information go to the Troop 43 Facebook page at facebook.com/princetontroop43.
