Two scouts earn Eagle rank

Posted by Rich Schwartzman on May 15, 2018

Connor Mears with the proclamation awarded to him by Chadds Ford Township Supervisor Noelle Barbone.

Two Boy Scouts from Troop 31 were awarded their Eagle Scout ranking during a Court of Honor ceremony at Hillendale Elementary School Monday night. The two — Connor Mears and Nate Gerstenschlager — became the 150^th and 151^st scouts in the troop’s 70-year history to achieve the rank.

During the ceremony, Mears — a senior at Unionville High School — was awarded a proclamation from Chadds Ford Township Supervisor Noelle Barbone. Mears’ Eagle project included the construction of a Purple Martin birdhouse, a butterfly house, bat box, a lending library and a sitting bench for the township property side of the Harvey Run Trail.

Connor Mears with his mother Tammy as she paces the Eagle Scout pin on Connors uniform.

In a brief interview before the ceremony, Mears said he chose the project because of the natural beauty of the area and because he was asked to do something.

"I was approached by the former Township Manager Amanda Serock about completing a project for the beautification of the newly constructed trail. I just wanted to build something that I thought would really enhance the beauty of the area that already has so much wildlife," he said.

From planning to final construction, the project took three months. Along the way, Mears said, he learned the importance of leadership and teamwork. The project was his design, but the work included dealing with businesses that supply material, some fathers and fellow scouts to do the actual work.

"Leadership is such a valuable skill today," he said. "Just having the opportunity to work along so many awesome guys and to complete something that was really my own with the help of others, I really learned the importance of leadership and learned that when you have a number of people working toward a common goal, anything’s possible."

Gerstenschlager’s project was geared toward education. It involved building two raised garden beds as well as a post and rail sign for Hillendale Elementary School’s second-grade curriculum. It’s designed to help students learn about plants, gardening and nutrition.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.