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Aaron Reza
Eagle Scout
Aaron
Malek
Reza was awarded the Boy Scouts of
America’s highest rank, Eagle Scout, during a
Court of Honor
on March 21, 2010
at the Page Walker Arts and History
Center
in Cary,
NC. Aaron is a member of
Troop
216 and is the son
of Sohel and Neelam Reza of Cary. He officially earned
the
rank of Eagle Scout
on October 14, 2009 at the age of 13.
Aaron
is
Troop 216’s 71st Eagle Scout 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.
Over
85
people attended the Court of Honor,
including his sister, Amanda, fellow scouts and
friends. Travelling
from Rockaway, New Jersey
were Aaron’s maternal
grandparents Nari and Asha Jhamnani and his
uncle Pavan Jhamnani . Also
in attendance for the
ceremony were his
paternal grandparents Dr. Adbul and Nur Malek,
and uncle Suman Reza, of
Cary,
NC and godparents, Karen and Jason Mann of
Charlotte, NC. Eagle
Scout Brian De
Contreras was the Master
of Ceremonies.
The
ceremony
opened with a presentation of the colors by
Eagle Scouts Jack
Kesselring and Gary Meyer.
His
sister, Amanda Reza, delivered the invocation. The traditional candle
lighting ceremony was
conducted by Connor Johnson, Adam Keller and
Evan Sox. The Eagle
Scout Charge and Oath were given by
Jack Kesselring. Scoutmaster
Chuck
Gay presented the Eagle neckerchief and Eagle
Advisor, Mark
Shaefer, presented a flag that was flown over
the United
States Capitol
Building
in honor of Aaron’s achievement.
Special Guest Mayor Harold Weinbrecht Jr.
presented Aaron with a proclamation from the
Town of Cary
in honor of this event. Mr.
Andy
Marias, of the Cary Apex Elks Lodge Number 2798,
presented a
certificate and flag and Mr. Todd Ellis, Troop
216’s Charter
Organization Representative and Knights of
Columbus member, presented
Aaron with an engraved pen.
In
recognition of his achievement, Aaron also
received letters of
commendation from President Obama, Vice
President Joseph Biden, Senator
Richard Burr, and Governor Beverly Perdue. The ceremony closed
with a benediction from
Assistant Scoutmaster Tom Brawn.
Aaron
began
his scouting career in 2002 as a Tiger
Cub with Pack 218 in Cary,
where he subsequently earned all of the Cub
Scout ranks, 14 belt loops,
20 pins,
the World Conservation Award and the Bismallah
Badge, the Islamic
Religious
Award. On March 1,
2007, Aaron received Cub
Scouting’s highest award, the Arrow of Light,
and bridged to
BSA Troop 216 in March
2007.
During
his
tenure with Troop 216, Aaron has spent
the past three summers camping with the troop 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. Aaron
has earned 35 merit
badges. Aaron
considers the highlights of his
scouting career to be camping with friends, rock
climbing at Vertical
Edge and
biking.
The
BSA
program heavily emphasizes leadership
skills, and throughout his career with Troop
216, Aaron has held
numerous
leadership positions, including Senior Patrol
Leader, Patrol Leader,
Quartermaster, Troop Guide and Scribe.
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, Aaron led thirteen
scouts and several adults in the construction of
two wooden garden seat
park
benches for Martin
Middle School
in Raleigh,
NC. The benches will
benefit
the students and
staff during lunch and will be used for classes
held outside.
An
eighth
grade student at Martin
Middle School
in Raleigh,
NC,
Aaron has learned through scouting that in life
it is more rewarding to
help
others, dream big, and be a leader, not a
follower. This
summer, Aaron will be attending Sea
Base, a high adventure Boy Scout camp in the Florida
Keys.
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