Scout Troop 37 of Los Altos conducted its Eagle Court of Honor ceremony for five new Eagle Scouts June 4.
The Eagle Scout designation is the highest rank in Boy Scouts. To earn the Eagle rank, Scouts must complete and lead a community service project, hold troop leadership positions, perform service and complete a minimum of 21 merit badges.
The new Eagle Scouts and their projects:
• Derek Beatty of Los Altos built a protective shelter and shelves for wheelchairs and their components at the Los Altos Sub-acute and Rehabilitation Center, including cleaning and repairing all of the wheelchairs that were damaged from being left outside.
Over 12 years of Scouting, Beatty performed 70 hours of service, camped 104 nights, hiked more than 214 miles and built a kayak. His leadership roles included assistant patrol leader, patrol leader and bugler. He was awarded the Arrow of Light in 2013. He also earned the 50 Miler Award and in 2019 was inducted into the Order of the Arrow, Scouting’s national camping honor society. He earned a Bronze Palm beyond the Eagle rank.
• Joseph Falkenburg of Los Altos led a revitalization project at the Flagpole-Native Garden area at Santa Rita School. With help from fellow troop members, he built a redwood bench, installed a flagstone path and planted a new tree and water-wise plants.
Falkenburg has been active in Scouting for 12 years and performed 87 hours of service, served in leadership roles including den chief and troop guide, camped 60 nights, hiked 46 miles and built a kayak.
• Tim Hein of Los Altos refinished 32 lunch tables at Egan Junior High School by leading a group of Scouts to pressure-wash, sand and apply water-sealing finish, making them useful to students again.
In Hein’s five years of Scouting, he performed 34 hours of service, camped 64 nights, hiked more than 38 miles and built a kayak. His leadership roles included senior patrol leader and assistant senior patrol leader. He was awarded the Herman Peters Award for best Scout spirit through his leadership and participation in troop events. In 2019, he became a member of the Order of the Arrow.
• Michael Luk of Palo Alto led a group of Scouts in planting a California native garden at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Palo Alto, using water-wise plants to improve the aesthetics in the parking lot and in front of the church.
In 11 years of Scouting, Luk held the leaderships position of webmaster and assistant senior patrol leader. He earned the National Outdoor Achievement Award while camping 54 nights. He hiked more than 40 miles, completed 40 hours of service and built a kayak. Luk also earned a Bronze Palm.
• Cole Metcalf of Los Altos collected and refurbished more than 60 musical instruments through community donations and delivered them to the Santa Rosa School District for immediate use by student victims of the 2017 Napa Valley fires.
Over his 12 years of Scouting, Metcalf performed 31 hours of service, camped 71 nights, hiked more than 53 miles and built a kayak. His leadership roles included assistant senior patrol leader, scribe, patrol leader, chaplain aide and historian. He received the Arrow of Light Award in 2013 and was inducted into the Order of the Arrow in 2019.
For more information, visit troop37loaltos.com.
