South Park scout achieves Eagle rank
Boy Scout Troop 510 held an Eagle Court on Oct. 27 at St. Louise de Marillac Church in Upper St. Clair. New Eagle Scout Alexander Gamrat was recognized by family and friends for reaching the highest rank of the Boy Scouts. Nationally, only approximately 4 percent of all Scouts achieve this honor. Alex received several letters of recognition from national, state and local leaders acknowledging his efforts and success. The final and most difficult task to reach the Eagle rank is their “Eagle Project,” which is intended to benefit the local community. The perspective Eagle Scout is responsible for all aspects of the project to include planning, organizing, staffing and funding. For his project, Alex cleaned and repaired the outdoor Stations Of The Cross located behind Seton La Salle High School. Trees and bushes were pruned and trimmed to open up the space. The icons were removed from the wooden crosses and cleaned. Scaling and re-staining of the crosses was completed and the icons were placed on the refurbished crosses. The ground area was landscaped and flower seeds were planted. Attending and representing the BPOE was Eugene Eckman, leading knight of the Pittsburgh South Hills Elks Lodge 2213 in Bethel Park. He presented the new Eagle Scout with award certificates from the local lodge and from the Grand Lodge in Chicago. He also gave him a personal U.S. flag and a small gold pin representing the 80+ year relationship between the two organizations. Pictured from left are: Lauren Gamrat, Alex’s sister; Frank Gamrat, Alex’s father; new Eagle Scout Alex Gamrat; Elks representative Eugene Eckman; Carol Gamrat, Alex’s mother; and Troop 510 Scoutmaster Scott Thurston.