The Boy Scouts of America will honor seniors Jett Roberts, Kieran Okada and Tommy Murphy on May 24, 2019 as they step up to the top rank of Eagle Scout at a National Eagle Court of Honor to be held at at Corpus Christi Parish in Piedmont.
Members of Troop 6, the O’Dowd trio will be recognized for superior achievements in service, leadership and life skills. Each of the young men focused on a different project at the heart of their quest for Eagle.
Jett conducted three book drives which yielded almost 2,000 like-new books to replenish the library used by the women and children of Elizabeth House in Oakland. Elizabeth House offers shelter and protection to those seeking a safe place from abusive homes. Some of the books were also shared with the Frick Academy library, an Oakland Middle School serving urban youth where Jett volunteered junior year as part of his O’Dowd service project.
Kieran’s Eagle Project was to design and build two garden beds at the Altenheim residence in Oakland. The beds are 9 feet by 5 feet, and 2 feet deep. Kieran created the designs for the beds and planned the logistics of getting the supplies and 24 volunteers scheduled over three workdays. The garden beds are sturdy and will be able to be used for many years, bringing joy to the residents of the Altenheim, who grow their own food and flowers.
Tommy Murphy contributed to Oakland via an improvement project focused on the Oakland Memorial Firestorm Garden. He led the troop in planning and installing a series of improvements to this half-acre memorial to the 25 people who perished in the 1991 Oakland Hills fire, and the thousands who lost their homes. Tommy and Troop 6 installed a new drip irrigation system, arbor and hundreds of succulent plants to prevent the spread of fire danger at the Memorial.
It is interesting to know that four of each 100 boys who become Scouts will reach the rank of Eagle. And while only one in four boys in America ever become a Scout, of our nation’s leaders in business, religion and politics, Scouting reports that three out of four were Scouts