Westfield’s Newest Eagle Scouts
Westfield BSA Troop 72
Westfield’s Troop 72 inducted 5 Eagle Scouts during a Court of Honor Ceremony held on June 12, 2022 at the Presbyterian Church in Westfield.
Westfield Chief of Police Christopher Battiloro, Mayor Shelley Brindle, Assemblyman Jon Bramnick and other representatives were on hand to celebrate the achievements of Evan McNamara, Peter Nazzaro, Richie Panikiewsky, Dhillon Patel, and Aidan Sheppard.
Multiple speakers at the ceremony pointed out, of all scouts since the inception of scouting in 1910, only 4% of scouts have earned the rank of Eagle (Scouts BSA’s highest rank). Some well-known Eagle Scouts you have heard of: Gerald Ford, Martin Luther King, Jr., Neil Armstrong, Bill Gates and Steven Spielberg, to name a few.
In addition to earning many Merit Badges, and moving through years of rank advancement, an Eagle Scout must also undertake a project to benefit their community. Westfield was fortunate to be the beneficiary of the following 5 Eagle Scout projects.
Richie Panikiewsky’s Eagle Scout project involved designing and building a custom made wood cabinet to be used by the Westfield DPW for storing the town’s American flags. Troop 72 puts up and takes down the American flags from the light poles in town each Spring and Fall as a service to the community.
Evan McNamara restored and enhanced the 4 deer exclosures on the Red Trail in the Watchung Reservation to encourage reforestation. Kean University environmental studies students now use these exclosures for research.
Peter Nazzaro’s project, “Tech Essentials for Beginners” is designed for teaching people who are inexperienced with technology the basics through tutorial videos which are accessible on YouTube.
Dhillon Patel’s project rehabilitated and improved 2 miles of wooded trails in Tamaques Park that had become hazardous from overuse.
Aidan Sheppard built a custom 5×8 shed for the Martin Wallberg American Legion Post 3. The shed was built to hold American flags dropped off by the community, as well as the miniature American flags placed at the graves of veterans at Fairview Cemetery each Memorial Day; the flags are stored in the shed until they can be properly retired.
To learn more about these and other Eagle scouts/projects; visit Troop 72troop72westfieldnj.org.
Congratulations to these amazing young men and their families on this spectacular achievement!
Photo by Westfield BSA Troop 72
