Army veteran talks to new Eagle Scouts
PROSPECT — Members of the 2013 Moraine Trails Council Eagle Scout Class received wisdom as well as recognition for their achievements at a gala March 27.
Retired Lt. Col. Gary Kuhn, an Army veteran from Butler, addressed 33 new Eagle Scouts and their mentors at the annual Eagle Scout Recognition Dinner at the White Barn.
“I enjoy speaking with young people to address what is in store for them for the rest of their lives and how scouting is one of the blocks in their foundation in preparation for life,” said Kuhn, who visits schools to inspire students about their futures.
Irv Gable, Glacier Ridge District director for the Boy Scouts, said 56 Scouts earned the Eagle rank in 2013, although not all attended the gala. The 2013 class represented 27 troops from three districts.
Gable said Zach Matuch of Troop 743 was awarded the Andrew S. Korim Eagle Scout Educational Scholarship in recognition of his dedication to the Scouts and to his studies.
Matuch is a Shenango High School graduate and a freshman at Allegheny College studying neuroscience. He said he was surprised and humbled to earn the scholarship.
“It's really expanded my horizons,” Matuch said. “I've been able to experience all these great things all across the country through Scouting. I aged out, but I still try to stay active with them.”
Henry Sinopoli, Moraine Trails Council president, said the annual scholarship is unique in that it is voted on and awarded by the new Eagle class.
“The other Scouts give the award to one of their colleagues that they feel is really deserving,” Sinopoli said. “It goes to the person who embodies the Scout oath and law to the highest degree.”
Expanding on the Scout oath, Kuhn, who retired from the Army 82nd Airborne Division in 1990, said he focused his address on the importance of selecting good mentors throughout life and of being a good mentor to others. He also presented an analogy of life as theater.“I refer to life as an unrehearsed play where they each get to write their own script, choose the role that they want to play,” Kuhn said. “They direct that play, and the final production is their life and they get to produce that.”Kuhn said he was a Star Scout in his youth and the lessons he learned as a Boy Scout enabled him to become a leader in the Army.“I could tell in my soldiers (in Vietnam) almost immediately who had Scouting experience and who did not, especially in a combat situation,” Kuhn said. “Even though (the Eagle Scouts) don't realize it, Scouting will make leadership easier for them and will provide them with the courage and strength to make rational decisions.”
