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Washington Evening Journal
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Third Sternhagen brother makes Eagle scout
It’s not genetic, but it’s a family trait
VICTOR — It’s not genetic, but becoming an Eagle Scout definitely runs in the Sternhagen family.
Brody, now 18, is the third brother to achieve the highest rank available in the Boy Scouts of America.
From Scout, to Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star and Life, most Boy Scouts never achieve the final rank — Eagle.
The Eagle rank requires a total of 21 merit badges — 10 more than the next lower rank, Life, according to Boy Scouts of America. Badges are awarded for completing activities in specific categories, such as first aid, citizenship, cooking, personal fitness, emergency preparedness or lifesaving, environment science or sustainability, camping and family life.
A scout must also serve at least six months in a troop leadership position; plan, develop and lead a service project for either a school, community or religious organization; demonstrate and live by the scout oath and law; participate in a scoutmaster conference; and successfully complete an Eagle Scout Board of Review.
A workbook guides Life scouts through the process of creating an Eagle scout project before they turn 18. The scout submits a proposal for a service project and completes the project to demonstrate leadership skills and learn project management and responsibility.
Brody created a slideshow for the Victor American Legion Memorial Day service. The slides give the names of more than 400 deceased veterans from the Victor. The American Legion had a list of names dating back to the Civil War, said Brody, and he contacted families, asking for photos.
“Every Memorial Day they do a roll call,” said Shawn. “What Brody made is a visual.”
“It’s kind of still ongoing,” said Shawn Sternhagen, Brody’s dad. Descendants of veterans can still send photos to the American Legion, and the photos will be added to the appropriate slides for next year’s reading.
American Legion Commander Don Craig is in charge of the additions.
Brody became a Cub Scout when he was in first grade. “I like camping and fishing,” he said.
Outdoor pursuits kept Brody in Boy Scouts through the Eagle rank when the friends he started with dropped out one by one.
Brody had two incentives to keep going — two brothers who had reached Eagle rank before him.
Chase, now 22, was the first of the three to make it all the way to the top, but even he had a role model. “When I started, I remember them talking about my uncle who was in scouts,” he said.
That uncle, Corey Dietze, reached Eagle level, building dugouts at the Little League for his Eagle project.
Chase made boxes for trash and recycling bins at the athletic complex for his Eagle project. He also made a scoreboard at the Little League field, and he made a flower bed at the sports complex to fit over a tripping hazard.
“I made a sign with dates for the food bank,” said Kaleb, 20. Kaleb was the only scout in his age group to reach Eagle.
Tim Glotfelty, scoutmaster to all three of the brothers, led them from the time they were 11 years old, when they moved from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. “I started this troop in 2004,” he said.
The Victor Lions Club is the charter for the troop.
“It’s not easy to keep them in Scouts,” said Glotfelty. Students have so many different activities they can be involved in, and they start sports so young. Scouting is not a priority for many young people.
Parents are a big reason why students stay in scouting, Glotfelty said. “Got to have parent support.”
Shawn admits he had to push the boys to keep them on track to make Eagle as they got older and became more involved in athletics.
Glotfelty said two things pull boys away from scouting: the smell of gasoline and the smell of perfume.
Glotfelty’s son became an Eagle scout in 2010. Another Victor family had two Eagle scouts, but the Sternhagen family is the first to have three.
Eagle scouts have an advantage as adults, Glotfelty said. Employers see that they’ve displayed responsibility and leadership as they’ve achieved the highest rank.
“I start two or three years before their 18th birthday” to help them find an Eagle project,” Glotfelty said. The project has to be completed before they turn 18, and that date has a way of sneaking up on them, he said.
