ANSONIA — An Eagle Scout Court of Honor was conducted Saturday afternoon honoring Brandon Thornhill of Boy Scout Troop 114, who has earned Scouting’s top honor.
Held in the Gathering Place at Ansonia United Methodist Church, the court of honor was attended by Scout leaders and members, family and friends, who witnessed Thornhill receive the Eagle Scout award.
The program featured the welcome by Scoutmaster Dave Staver, opening prayer [by Thornhill’s maternal grandfather John Davis of Versailles], presentation of flags, Pledge of Allegiance, lighting of the candles by fellow Scouts, candidate history, the candidate and parents with the pinning ceremony, the awards presentation, a poem read by Assistant Scoutmaster Gary Midlam, Staver talking about Thornhill’s Scouting experience, the project beneficiary response by Jim Kammer of the Ansonia American Legion, closing prayer by the church pastor Ron Hokesema and the partaking of refreshments.
In his report on Thornhill’s accomplishments, Staver reported that Brandon crossed the bridge Feb. 15, 2010, from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts and attended his first camp-out April 2010, earning his first couple of merit badges.
“He and Robert [Christman, who recently earned his Eagle Scout award] attended summer camp that year,” Staver went on. ” In August 2010, Brandon received his first rank of tenderfoot; in May 2011, his second class Scout; in July 2011, his first class Scout; Aug 2012, Star Scout; June 2013, Life Scout; and June 13 to Sept. 15, he worked on his Eagle project. Brandon waited until the last day to get the project done.”
According to Staver, Brandon earned a total of 21 merit badges, with 13 of them required.
Staver then read two congratulatory notices to Brandon; one from the Freemasons of Ohio and the other from the Miami Valley Council.
Greg Baker, an assistant Scout leader as well as an Eagle Scout, made a presentation on the Eagle being the highest rank in Scouting and welcomed him into the brotherhood.
“This has been fun,” said Brandon. “I’ve had a lot of experiences and I learned a lot.”
Jim Kammer of the American Legion, after congratulating Brandon, remarked, “Brandon came to one of our meetings and asked if he could put siding on the buildings. He did an excellent job. It was professional. Thank you.”
Then, Kammer addressed the other Scouts, “If you have project, come talk to us. As long as we’re able to help, we’ll help the Boy Scouts.”
The son of Mike and Julie Thornhill, Brandon said he has been in Scouts since first grade. He is now a senior at Ansonia High School. His project for the Eagle Scout award included putting metal siding on two out-buildings at the Ansonia American Legion.
Both of his parents are involved in the Scouting program; his father, an assistant Scout leader, and his mother, who works at Cooper Farms in Rossburg, is a Cubmaster.
His father, who is employed Midmark in Versailles, was a Scout, but had never earned the Eagle ranking. Brandon’s younger brothers, Kyle and Nick, are also in Scouting.
After graduation from high school, Brandon is looking at a couple of different colleges and perhaps majoring in animation and/or graphic design.
In the meantime, he enjoys video games and working at Cooper Farms as well. The 18-year-old is also a member of the FFA and cross country and used to play baseball.
Other family members who attended included his paternal grandparents, Greg and Roxie Thornhill; his maternal grandparents, John and Karen Davis; and maternal great-grandfather, Roy Smith.
After the program closed, Brandon commented, “It feels pretty good. It definitely was a challenge to get here.”
