May 5, 2016 10 min read

Five Boy Scouts from Troop 215 in Bethel Park received the rank of Eagle Scout during a Court of Honor held April 24 at Bethel Presbyterian Church.

Ethan J. Kinsella, 18, grew up in Bethel Park and is a senior at Bethel Park High School. He is a member of the marching and concert bands and also runs the 200- and 400-meter races with the track and field team. Kinsella explored his interest in media production by engaging in an apprenticeship with the Pittsburgh Filmmakers last semester and has been working with peers on the “early morning news” segments filmed at the high school.

As a first-grader, Kinsella joined Pack 215 from Bethel Presbyterian Church, where he earned his Arrow of Light. He then joined Troop 215 and held the leadership positions of librarian, historian and den chief to Pack 600. He always felt the highlight of each scout year was participating in summer camp at the Heritage Reservation.

Ethan’s Eagle Service Project was to construct replacement flower boxes, update planters and refinish the benches located in the back of St. Thomas More Church. He needed to consult professionals as he initiated the project, establish a budget, compile a list of materials, fundraise and recruite volunteers from both the scout troop and community, and finally, lead the effort to completion. After months of planning and the infusion of generous donations, the project began in August 2015. While doing the project, he came to understand the importance of listening, asking questions and then following up with more questions. He developed a deeper understanding of the ways communication impacts a project.

Kinsella is currently working as a volunteer at the Bethel Park Cable Station and plans to attend college in the fall where he will study filmmaking/broadcasting.

Gregory Curtis Holbert, 17, is the son of Richard and Lisa Holbert of Bethel Park. He has an older brother Josh, also an Eagle Scout, and a younger sister, Tanya, who is a freshman at Bethel Park High School and completed her Girl Scout Silver Award and is a member of Girls Scouts and Ventures.

Holbert joined scouts in first grade as a Cub Scout with Pack 1068, where he earned the Arrow of Light prior to joining Troop 215. As a Boy Scout, he completed the ranks of Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life and Eagle. Holbert became a member of the Order of the Arrow in 2011, and was an active member for two years. Greg was also awarded the World Conservation Award, as well as the United States Heritage Award in 2012.

Holbert has held several leadership positions in Troop 215. He served as scribe, historian, assistant patrol leader and patrol leader for the Hawk Patrol.

He chose his Eagle project to benefit the Troop’s Charter Organization, Bethel Presbyterian Church. He organized and led approximately 50 scouts, leaders and friends to remove two broken down railroad tie retaining walls and remove weeds and overgrown bushes and a giant oak stump from the neglected mulch beds above the walls. He replaced the retaining walls with Versa-lock block walls and landscaped the area above the retaining walls. In addition to getting more than 200 blocks donated and several yards of mulch and other materials for his project, he was also able to get a stump grinder, Bobcat, dump truck and operators donated for the project. With an estimated total project value in excess of $3,500 and close to 250 man hours, Holbert was able to give back to the church that has continuously supported Troop 215 for many years.

Holbert’s most memorable scouting experience was the 2010 Jamboree, which coincided with the celebration of 100 years of scouting. In addition to the Jamboree, Holbert enjoyed canoeing campouts and Heritage summer camp, where he won a first place trophy for “Most Fish” in the Heritage Parent and Son Fishing derby and two first place “Largest Fish” trophies at summer camp.

Holbert’s favorite sport to watch and play is hockey. He has played the position of right wing on multiple teams, including the South Park outdoor league for two years, Bethel Park High School In-Line team for three years, and the Bethel Park High School Ice Hockey team for two years. He is currently playing on the Spring Tier 2 South In-Line team.

Holbert plans to attend college in the fall at La Roche College, majoring in graphic design. While attending college, he plans to continue to play on the La Roche College Red Hawks In-Line hockey team.

David Justin Corbin, 18 and a high school senior, is the son of Brian and Sue Corbin of Upper St. Clair.

Corbin began his scouting career as a first-grader in Pack 660 (Upper St. Clair) with Cubmaster Carl Huhn. After a few years, he transferred to Pack 215 (Bethel Park). Corbin earned the Arrow of Light and joined Troop 215. He completed each rank in Scouting, culminating with his Eagle Scout award. He is also a Brotherhood member of the Order of the Arrow.

In Troop 215, Corbin has held the leadership positions of assistant patrol leader, patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader and senior patrol leader, as well as den chief. He also served as Troop Bugler the majority of his time in the troop.

Corbin has attended the 2010 National Jamboree, multiple Advancement Camps including serving as CIT, National Youth Leadership Training, and earned more than 80 merit badges.

Corbin’s Eagle Scout project was done to benefit Operation Troop Appreciation. He worked with local VFW and American Legion commanders and local businesses to collect supplies including food, hygiene, clothing items, bedding and games. In all, he and the volunteers collected 115 boxes of supplies that were, in part, sent to Army and Air Force troops in Jordan, Afghanistan and South Korea, many with morale issues. He also donated $3,242.45 to OTA, some of which will help returning veterans.

Corbin has one brother, Justin, a high school junior. Corbin is homeschooled and attends Upper St. Clair High School for wind ensemble and jazz band, as well as extracurricular activities. He serves as marching band president, trumpet section leader and head of the brass choir. He played trumpet in the pit orchestras for “Anything Goes,” “Kiss Me Kate” and “Seussical”” and was head of the pit orchestra for the 2016 spring musical, White Christmas.” He has been selected for and participated in PMEA honors bands and is student conductor of the jazz band. David is first trumpet in the South Hills Junior Orchestra and a senior trumpet in Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestra. He also serves in his church orchestra and brass ensemble.

Among his other extracurricular activities, Corbin has played Ultimate Frisbee, was on a FIRST Robotics team for two years where he was lead programmer, and has taken summer classes including LEAP@CMU. He enjoys electronics and spending time with fellow trumpeters and Jacob Ross.

Corbin is planning to attend Grove City College to study computer science and electrical engineering.

Scott F. Bracker, 16, is the son of Laura and Russell Bracker of South Park and the grandson of Mary and Frank Bayer, Bethel Park, and Alma and Harry Bracker, also of Bethel Park. He is the youngest of three children and is a sophomore at South Park High School. His oldest sister, Gwendolyn, attends Case Western Reserve University and his second sister, Lorraine, attends South Park High School and will graduate in 2016.

Bracker has been in scouting since first grade when he was a Tiger Cub in Pack 569, South Park. He participated in almost every pack and den activity available. He completed all 20 electives and earned the Arrow of Light.

Bracker crossed into Boy Scouts joining Troop 215, and continued to learn and grow through various activities at both troop and patrol levels. He earned several merit badges, his favorites being Robotics, Welding, Shotgun and Sail Boating. He was also “called out” for Order of the Arrow after completing his first year of Boy Scouts. For his OA Ordeal, he was a member of a team that moved 15 tons of powdered limestone by hand at Heritage Reservation.

Bracker held leadership positions in the Trail to First Class program. He was an instructor, assistant patrol leader, patrol leader and ASPL of the Trail to First Class program, mentoring the new scouts into Boy Scouts.

His Eagle project was the renovation of a local playground at Windover Hills United Methodist Church in South Park, which included building, installing and staining a 150-foot wooden fence to section off a playground. An old in-ground sandbox had to be removed. In addition, the playground equipment needed repainted. The replacement of a “Fred Flintstone car” included creating a new design and building a new car. Finally, the installation of a border for the car and the swing set were also added. After the renovation of the playground equipment, new mulch was added. Bracker completed a beautiful and safe playground for a local church and preschool.

In middle school, Bracker participated in band for four years and the F1 Club (CO2 Cars). In the F1 Club, he worked closely with three other students. “Each of us had a specific job for the team in which we learned to rely on the team members to complete the tasks and project,” he said.

In high school, Bracker was involved in the marching band, Interact (a service club) and BOTS IQ. He joined BOTS IQ because he had completed the Robotics Merit Badge. As he began his sophomore year, he is involved in after-school activities and started working at Evey True Value Hardware.

Brendan Joseph Fagan, 18, is the son of Patti and Joe Fagan of Bethel Park. He has an older sister, Shannon, and is currently a senior at Bethel Park High School.

Fagan started Scouts as a Tiger Cub in Pack 215, and then completed his Arrow of Light before entering Troop 215. He completed the ranks of Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life and then finished his Eagle Scout rank in October of 2015. He is a Brotherhood member in the Order of the Arrow and has earned 34 merit badges.

While with Troop 215, he has taken part in multiple leadership positions. Fagan began as the assistant patrol leader of the Monkey Patrol, then taking over as the Patrol Leader. He was also the troop’s bugler for a year.

Fagan has attended summer camp and has participated in some of the bigger trips, including Washington, D.C., and Gettysburg.

His Eagle Project was to refurbish the Jubilee Soup Kitchen. The three major changes he made were replacing three of the old ceiling fans in the dining room with bigger and more powerful ones, putting ceilings and light fixtures into two bathrooms, and installing thick plastic sheets on the walls in the hallway that lead to the back room to protect them from the food carts that could have scratched them when passing through. Some of the minor changes were securing two bookshelves to the wall, connecting two storage racks, adding a handle to one of the bathroom doors and adding a small light in a storage room.

At Bethel Park High School, he played football all four years, lettering junior and senior year, and is playing lacrosse this year. He also plays trumpet in the Bethel Park concert band. When he graduates, he plans on attending Youngstown State University to study mechanical engineering.