Mr. Ed Watson had the pleasure to watch his son, Matthew Watson of Troop 501, get his eagle rank at the Coyote Districts first virtual Eagle Board of Review last Thursday April 23rd, 2020. On the Board was Mr. Grant Huguenin, Mr. Mark Wilder and Mr. John Payne. Also Present was his Scoutmaster Mr. Scott Patton and Mr. Joe Skop to see this first virtual board. Mr. Kevin Book, Committee Chair of Troop 345 was hosting the meeting with their troop Zoom account. As if that were not enough, this is also a story of generations of Eagles. While Matthew was in his board Mr. Ed Watson and I were in the “lobby” with the rest of the volunteers of the online meeting where he shared the story of his family and the legacy of scouting that we got to wittiness that night.
“During WW2, my dad was a marine in the jungles of the South Pacific. Shortly after arriving, he observed some marines very comfortable in the jungle; yet others were very uncomfortable. He asked the comfortable marines why. They replied that they were boy scouts.
After the war, my Dad wanted to earn his eagle. Unfortunately for him, the maximum age was changed to 18.
My dad really believed in scouting values and guided me toward the path he wanted. I made Eagle in 1963. Later, my 2 sons, Peter (1983) and Tim(1985), each earned the Eagle badge.
So, life took a curve and God blessed me the gift a 2nd family. In the family tradition, my older son, Matthew (Gift of God) earned his eagle via zoom on April 23, 2020. His 12-year-old brother is 2nd class and wants to walk in his older brothers’ footsteps.
Hopefully, the tradition continues with something my dad started.”
It is worth noting that Kevin Book has worked very hard with our eagle board chair and a team of volunteers to make this happen during this time of social distancing. Thank you for your help!
Congratulations to Matthew and thank you to the entire Watson family for all they have done for scouting.
