By Margaret Mager, Community Service Liaison, Bronxville Boy Scouts Troop 5

Jun. 22, 2016:  Bronxville’s Boy Scout Troop 5 continues its strong Scouting tradition by advancing three troop members to Eagle Scout, Scouting’s highest rank.  

The three new Eagle Scouts are Tim Weir, James Tubridy, and Cameron Smith. These three Scouts bring the total number of Scouts reaching Eagle rank to 24 since 2010 and 64 since 1990. Only 6% of all Scouts in America achieve Eagle Scout per year. 

In addition, former Troop 5 Scoutmaster Joe Landy was awarded the prestigious Silver Buffalo Award at the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) National Annual Meeting. 

What is an Eagle Scout? From the 1938 Handbook for Scoutmasters, an Eagle Scout is “a young man who is qualified to help others as well as take care of himself. His badge is not a decoration, but rather a symbol of knowledge and ability.”  

Becoming an Eagle Scout requires an enormous commitment, typically taking five to seven years to achieve and must be achieved before the age of 18. Eagle Scouts are required to complete 325 requirements, including at least 22 merit badges plus an Eagle Project. The project must be planned and executed by the Scout; it can involve 200 man-hours of work by a team of volunteers led by the Scout. 

All three advancing Scouts’ Eagle Projects focused on facility and ground improvement projects. Tim Weir’s project benefitted the Ridge Park Reformed Church, Ridge Park, NJ; James Tubridy’s project benefitted the Humane Society of New Rochelle; and Cameron Smith’s project benefitted the Yonkers Animal Shelter. 

During the Eagle Scout Court of Honor, the Scouts participate in a pinning ceremony that recognizes the support of the Scouts’ parents. Each parent is awarded an Eagle Scout pin. In addition, the new Eagle Scouts received a letter of recognition from President Barak Obama, a testimony to the outstanding achievement it is to become an Eagle Scout.  

The journey to Eagle Scout moves up the ranks, starting with Scout and progressing through Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life, to Eagle. Each rank has numerous requirements that must be achieved and signed off on by a board of review. There is also the Eagle Palm award that recognizes Eagle Scouts who continue to earn merit badges after reaching Eagle Scout rank.  

On June 13, Troop 5 advanced eleven boys to Scout, four boys to Tenderfoot, four boys to Second Class, ten boys to First Class, and one to Life, and one received an Eagle Palm.  

The advancing Scouts are: 

Scout:  Henry Amar, Wil Bender, Vieko Bentikaenan, Thomas DiGaetano, Keyle Kirchmann, Zach Kirchmann, Austin Lawless, John Rizzo, Hayes Romley, James Valdes, Albert VanNess. 

Tenderfoot:  Sebastien Proano, James Rohr, Luke Stinga, Isaiah Weir. 

Second Class:  Marco LaVecchia, Mac Layton, Andrew Mager, Billy Rizzo. 

First Class: JP Denfeld, Michael Kryniczyn, Xavier Layton, Eric Modesitt, Jeffrey Modesitt, Tora Ozawa, James Rhee, David Stinga, Peter Vorbach, William Wallace. 

Life:  Tim Cushman.

Eagle Palm:  Nick Poli. 

The Court of Honor ceremony included the awarding of merit badges. Seventeen Scouts received a total of 47 merit badges. Demonstrating the range of skills and interests a Boy Scout is encouraged to develop, the merit badge awards included Personal Fitness, Law, Snow Sports, Chess, and First Aid. Obtaining a merit badge is typically a rigorous process requiring demonstrable knowledge and skill in the area of study. The purpose of the merit badge program is to allow Scouts to examine subjects to determine if they would like to further pursue them as a career or vocation. 

Before closing the Court of Honor ceremony, Scoutmaster Kevin Taylor thanked Charlie Vorbach for his eleven years of service. Vorbach, who is stepping down from his position as Troop 5 committee chair, served Troop 5 for six years and was a leader in Cub Scouts for five years. The Troop 5 Scout Spirit Award went to Ben Mehler. 

Taylor also recognized former Troop 5 Scoutmaster Joe Landy for receiving Scout’s highest commendation of the invaluable contributions that outstanding Americans make to youth. Created in 1925, the Silver Buffalo Award is the national-level distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America. It is presented for noteworthy and extraordinary service to youth on a national basis. The award is made by the National Court of Honor and was presented at the National Annual Meeting in San Diego in May. 

As a leader in Boy Scouts of America (chair of the innovation committee), Landy was the driving force behind the STEM Scouts initiative, which offers the BSA an exciting and relevant new avenue to deliver Scouting values to more young people. He not only guided the program’s development through close personal involvement, but also provided the funding to make the initiative possible. 

In his role as vice president for operations for the BSA, Landy oversaw the recent restructuring of the national professional staff and is directing the development of a new volunteer structure and operating procedures for the BSA. 

Landy knows firsthand the local impact of national decisions. In the past decade, he has been active on the local level as a Scoutmaster and troop committee chair, national jamboree contingent leader, and Philmont adult advisor. A former Scout, Landy has received the Silver Beaver Award and the Unit Leader Award of Merit. 

Landy holds a bachelor's degree in economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a master of business administration degree from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University. He is co-president and co-CEO of Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm. Landy and his wife, Mary, have two Eagle Scout sons. 

Pictured here (L to R): Top photo: Wil Bender (Scout), JP Denfeld (First Class), Isaiah Weir (Second Class), Tim Weir (Eagle), Jeffrey Modesitt (First Class), and Andrew Mager (Second Class); second photo (L to R): Eagle Scouts James Tubridy and Cameron Smith.  

Photos by Margaret Mager, Community Service Liaison, Bronxville Boy Scouts Troop 5