Hermon men earn highest Scout honor

HERMON – Michael Armstrong and Ryan Thomas of Hermon were presented recently with Eagle Scout awards, the highest award in Boy Scouting. The two young men are members of Troop 25 in Hermon.

The pins were presented at a ceremony held at Hermon Baptist Church, which offered its facility for the event.

The Eagle Scout award, which any member of the Boy Scouts is eligible to attain, is earned by only 2 percent of all youth who enter Cub Scouts or Boy Scouts.

It takes several years for a boy to learn the leadership and organizational skills as well as the confidence that must be shown before the award is presented.

For his Eagle Project, Armstrong chose to build a covered snowmobile bridge in Hermon with aid and permission of landowners Allen and Sandra Dorr and the assistance of the members of the Penobscot Snowmobile Club. Material costs were covered through financial assistance from local area businesses.

Thomas’ Eagle Project was the designing, building and erecting of additional signage at Ecotat Gardens on Route 2 to provide information and directions to visitors touring the scenic grounds. Construction funds were gathered through several bottle drives and individual donations, allowing Thomas to meet his financial objective for the project.

Armstrong is a senior at John Bapst Memorial High School and has been accepted at Thomas College in Waterville, where he will be enrolled in the criminal justice program.

Thomas is attending Southern Maine Community College, where he is on the dean’s list and enrolled in the new media and video production program.

Armstrong and Thomas acknowledged their gratitude to Pastor Garnett Chute and Hermon Baptist Church for sponsoring the event and to Don Crowell for his many hours volunteering with Troop 25 over the years and for acting as master of ceremonies for the event.