TOMMY SCOTT | CONTRIBUTED
RANK: Benjamin Scott, 15, the grandson of Washington resident Tommy and Geraldine Scott, has earned the highest advancement award the Boy Scouts of America offers to Boy Scouts, the Eagle Scout Award. Ben Scott’s extended family and genealogy has longtime ties to Beaufort County. He will be recognized in an Eagle Court of Honor ceremony held on May 4, 2014 in Sandy, Utah. Ben is a member of the Greater Salt Lake Council, Troup #1128. According the National Eagle Scout Association, only 4% of all boys who have joined the Boys Scouts of America since 1911 have achieved the rank of Eagle. Each candidate must earn 21-merit badges and successfully complete a community or church-related service project to earn his Eagle. Ben chose to design and build 12-Leopold benches for a walking trail located at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge located in Brigham City, Utah. The importance of the Refuge as a staging area for migratory waterfowl is evidenced by the tremendous number of duck (500,000) and Canada geese (5,000) found on the Refuge each fall. In addition, roughly 75 percent of the western population of tundra swans (more than 30,000 birds) use the Refuge for the fall staging and wintering in mild years. Ben is a 9th grade student at Navigator Pointe Academy and is active in several sports including basketball, golf, and snowboarding. He is an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is the son of Tommy Scott, Jr. and Kimberley Scott of Sandy, Utah.