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Matthew Beauchamp
Eagle Scout
Matthew
Erik
Beauchamp was awarded the Boy Scouts of
America’s
highest rank, Eagle
Scout, during a Court of Honor on February 20,
2010 at the Apex
community
Center in Apex, NC. Matt
is
a member of
Troop 216 in Cary
and is the son of Julie Ann and Brad Lee
Beauchamp, also of Apex. He
officially earned the
rank of Eagle Scout
on November 18, 2009 at the age of 17.
Matt
is
the 72nd Eagle Scout in Troop 216 since it was
founded in 1978. The
troop is led by
Scoutmaster Chuck Gay and
is sponsored by the Knights of Columbus at Saint
Michael the Archangel
Catholic Church.
Approximately
40
people attended the Court of Honor, including
fellow scouts and
friends. Matt’s
great aunt Sandra Courie
of Cayce, SC
and his great aunt Bonnie Shearer from Waterboro,
SC
attended
the ceremony. Apex
High Varsity Football Coach Bob Wolfe
was a special guest. The
Master
of
Ceremony was Brian De Contreras.
The
ceremony
opened with a presentation of the colors by
Eagle Scout Gary
Meyer and Life Scout Andrew Hibbard.
Mrs. Sandra Courie delivered the
invocation. Former
Scoutmaster Bob De
Contreras explained the trail to Eagle and
Scoutmaster Chuck Gay
described Matt’s scouting history.
Assistant Scoutmaster and Eagle Advisor
John
Hibbard presented Matt with the Eagle
neckerchief. Mr.
Robert D. Wallace of the Cary Apex Elks
Lodge Number 2798 presented Matt with an Eagle
Scout Award and flag. An
Eagle Scout himself,
Coach Wolfe reflected on how scouting provided
him the opportunity to
travel the world, to make an impact on his
community and to use the
leadership skills learned in scouting during his
career coaching
football. In
recognition of his achievement, Matt also
received letters of
commendation from President George W. Bush, John
Akerman of the
Occoneechee Council, Paul M. Newby, Associate
Justice of the Supreme
Court of NC, and Mike Gould, Lieutenant General
of the United States
Air Force. Matt has
also received the Good Citizenship Award from
the Marine Corps League,
Tarheel Detachment #733. The
ceremony
concluded with the retiring of the colors and a
benediction by
Sandra Courie.
Matt
began
his scouting career in March 1999 with Pack 316
(???) at St.
Andrew’s
Church in Apex, where he subsequently earned all
of the Cub Scout
ranks, 18
belt loops, and the World Conservation Award. In
January 2003, Matt received Cub Scouting’s
highest award, the Arrow of Light, and bridged
to BSA Troop 216 in
March 2003.
During
his
tenure with Troop 216, Matt earned the World
Conservation Award and
in 2006
he was inducted into the Order of the Arrow, a
scouting honor
organization. In
July 2006, Matt
traveled to the Philmont Scout Ranch, a high
adventure Boy Scout Camp
in Cimarron,
New Mexico,
where he spent 10 days backpacking over 65
miles with several other Troop 216 scouts and
leaders. After
completing a conservation project at
Philmont, Matt also received his 50 miler award. Camping, backpacking,
cycling, and rafting
are among Matt’s favorite activities with the
troop as well
as camping at Camp
Raven Knob in Mount
Airy, NC. In
order to reach the rank of Eagle Scout, 21 merit
badges must be earned,
12 of
which are Eagle required. Matt
has
earned
21 merit badges.
The
BSA
program heavily emphasizes leadership skills,
and throughout his
career
with Troop 216, Matt has held numerous
leadership positions, including
senior
patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader,
troop guide, instructor,
and
librarian.
As
required
by the Boy Scouts of America, a candidate for
Eagle Scout must
plan,
develop, and give leadership to others while
providing a service to the
community. For his
project, Matt
conducted a bird house clinic at the West
Regional Library and then led
10
children between the ages of 6 and 10 in the
construction of bird
houses. He also led
ten scouts in the construction
and installation of bird houses at the Kelly
Road
Park. Susan Mallot, of Cary,
was especially helpful by providing the space at
the West Regional
Library for
the birdhouse clinic.
A
senior at Apex High School in Apex, NC, Matt has
been a member of the
Apex
Football team for the past four years and is
currently a fourth year
member of
the Apex Lacrosse Team. After
graduation
in
May, Matt will attend Appalachian State
University where he will
study computer
science.
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