Page 32 - South Mississippi Living - December, 2016

PEOPLE soaring
FIVE SCOUTS SOAR TO EAGLE RANKS
story by Alexis Williams photos by Donn Hupp
Gulfport’s Boy Scout Troop 301 recently elevated five Scouts to the distinguished rank of Eagle Scout after years of service and completion of their final projects.
To have five Eagle Scouts from the same troop at one time is unusual, according
to Greg Stewart, chairman of the troop committee. “Troop 301 has been fortunate
to have a lot of Eagles, thanks to parental support,” said Stewart. Dating back to 1961, Troop 301 has produced more than 100 Eagle Scouts.
Scoutmaster C. J. McClendon has been
involved in Troop 301 for years and before he was scoutmaster he worked with these newest Eagle Scouts as assistant scoutmaster. According to McClendon, the Scout Council must approve each project with community service being at the core of each Eagle
Scout project. “Projects typically take a matter of several months from inception
to completion; some take over a year,” said McClendon.
The five new Eagle Scouts include Jarred Bishop, Bailey Halliday, Grayson Dyal, Wesley Mechatto and Jay Warren.
32 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • December 2016
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TROOP 301:
Bailey Halliday, Jarred Bishop, Wesley Mechatto, James Warren, Grayson Dyal