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Local scout earns Eagle rank
By Brian Johnson
Nevada Herald
Nineteen-year-old Scott Ross, one of the speakers at the Ozark Trails Council, BSA, Friends of Scouting luncheon, is one of a select few who have earned the rank of Eagle Scout.
"You're in a category with guys like Ross Perot, Gerald Ford and Hank Aaron," Dean Ertel, Ozark Trails Council executive, said Friday afternoon at the Nevada County Club.
Ertel said that out of every 100 scouts, only two make it to the rank of Eagle.
But there is more to being an Eagle Scout than name dropping.
"If you follow the national trend Eagle Scouts make more money then those who are not Eagle Scouts," Ertel said.
Ross, who just finished his freshman year at the University of Missouri-Columbia, says that scouting has prepared him for life in the real world.
"The bond I'd built in the Boy Scouts was significant to what I have encountered in the real world," Ross said. "It's been a worthwhile experience for me."
In his speech to the attendees Friday afternoon, Ross said because of the Scouts he now has an appreciation for nature that started when he left Nevada for Columbia.
"I always heard about the appreciation for nature," Ross said. "I really never wanted to talk about it, but in Columbia, I looked at the sky at night and I couldn't see anything but a haze. In Nevada I saw a sky full of stars. Coming back to town made me appreciate nature."
While Ertel and other Scout executives talk to Ross about his future prospects, Ross just wants to think about all the good times he had with them.
"I thought it was a lot of fun at the time," Ross said. "I didn't realize how much fun I really did have. But I've come to appreciate it more now than I have."
Also during the luncheon, Friends of Scouting chairman Candace Moore said they raised $1,420. Their goal was $5,000, but many attending the luncheon think this is a good start.