Wrightsville Beach-based Boy Scout Troop promotes Two to Eagle Scout

By Mel Beasley
Contributing Writer
Troop 232 of the Cape Fear Council welcomed two active members to a new rank in the Boy Scouts of America, passing on the Eagle Scout ranks in an official ceremony on Saturday, April 28 at Wrightsville Beach Baptist Church, marking the boys among some of the youngest to reach the level at ages 16 and 14.
The Eagle Scout rank is the highest level of achievement attainable in the Boy Scouting program, and those pursuing the rank must be highly active within their troop by undergoing specific tests, and wilderness excursions to receive merit badges.
With a family immersed in the Scouting program, Dylan Rosbrugh, 16, said he has been involved since a young age. His scouting program experience included building an exhibit at the Wrightsville Beach Museum that showed the impact of storm surge from some of the area’s biggest hurricanes.
“I’m not a big fan of camping because I like the AC,” Rosbrugh said, “but I’ve enjoyed this and I hope it helps me as I apply to colleges.”
Tab Taylor, 14, said he has been involved in the program since he was very young in the Cub Scouts. To obtain his Eagle rank, Taylor said he had to do physical labor at a local cemetery, helping them build an American flag casket.
“Even though it was a lot of work,” said Taylor, “I’m proud to have done it. This is something I’ve been working toward since I became a Cub Scout about ten years ago.”
Among learning survival skills and first aid, troops are encouraged to live by a certain set of standards, according to the Boy Scouts of America official website. The skills and character developed in the program are highly sought after at colleges, according to the Scouting program.
“In 1949, the average age of Eagle Scouts was 14.6 years. In 2016, that number was 17.35 years old,” writes Bryan Wendell on the Scouting Magazine website. This shift in ages is attributed to the busier schedules young members have taken on in the past decade, according to Wendell, an Eagle Scout himself and a senior editor for several Scouting magazines.
“Dozens of universities, BSA local councils, and religious, civic, and military organizations offer college scholarships to Eagle Scouts,” according to Boy Scouts of America.