MP teen earns Eagle Scout rank

BY BRYCE KELLY

Mt. Pleasant News

Clayton Loving can?t remember a time when the Boy Scouts wasn?t a part of his life. So when he realized he had finally earned his Eagle Scout Award, he says it was just another rung on the ladder of his Scouting career.

?I think it really lightened my load more than anything,? said Loving of his recent award of his Eagle Scout badge on Oct. 30. ?It feels good to have it now.?

Representing Troop 24, the newly appointed 16-year-old Eagle Scout currently resides in Mt. Pleasant and is a student at Mt. Pleasant Community High School. Loving says life is a little less busy now that he has crossed the threshold of being an Eagle Scout, but still has plenty to occupy his time and attention. Outside of school and Troop 24, Loving says his involvement in sports and the school?s trap shooting team keeps his schedule pretty packed.

In order to achieve Eagle Scout rank, Loving had to earn 21 merit badges on a variety of life skills and vocations, serving in a leadership capacity in Troop 24, and by completing a community service project. For his project, he constructed shooting benches, a gun rack and a spectator?s bench for Prairie Hunters Gun Range, in West Point. Loving also had to raise roughly $600 to complete the project.

?I go down there a lot, so I had been thinking about doing this project for my Eagle Scout project for awhile,? said Loving. ?It was pretty fun to do.?

According to Dona Coultas, Boy Scouts of America program secretary, the rank of Eagle Scout is earned by less than four percent of all youth who join Boy Scouts of America. The Mississippi Valley Council covers 12 counties in the Illinois, Iowa and Missouri tri-state area and serves more than 3,000 youth.

Loving?s father, Jason, says he is very proud of his son?s achievement. A former Scout himself, Jason is one of his son?s Troop leaders and has had a front row seat to watch his teenager work through the ranks of the Scouts.

?He really grew up in Scouts,? said Jason. ?It?s something that he has always loved to do.?

Loving credits the Scouts with helping him meet new people, many of whom have now become his close friends, while also learning more about leadership and the meaning of hard work. On average, Troop 24 is made up of roughly 10 to 14 young men, and Loving says being an Eagle Scout now makes him a leader within the Troop.

Whether it?s camping or doing service projects with his troop, Loving says there aren?t many aspects of the Boy Scouts that he doesn?t enjoy, and insists that most boys would find at least one aspect of the Scouts enjoyable.

?I enjoy the outdoors, so I really like going to summer camp. It?s fun to meet other people, too. I?ve made a lot of friends through the Scouts over the years,? he said. ?The Scouts teaches you a lot of cool stuff.?

Looking towards the future, Loving says he plans to stay with his Troop until he finishes high school. Despite having already earned his Eagle Scout ranking, there are still additional awards and Eagle Palms he can earn, which he says he would like to do before he turns 18.

?I think it?s pretty doable,? he says of earning all his Eagle Palms. ?I?ve got time before I hit 18 and I think I?ll enjoy the challenge.?