Twelve years ago, four six-year-olds joined the Cub Scouts. The close friends, now seniors at Carmel Catholic High School, moved through the ranks of scouting, reaching the highest level on March 7 when, during a Court of Honor at Crawford Warming House in Libertyville, Ryan Frels, Marcos Monroe, Nick Vortherms, and James Willemsen became Eagle Scouts.
“I’ve known these boys since they were in first grade,” said Patrick Emmons, Scoutmaster of Troop 60 in Libertyville. Before that, he was their Cubmaster.
“Scouts have to advance through seven ranks,” Emmons explained. During the initial ranks, they learn such skills as tying knots, learning first aid, and cooking, and do a lot of camping.
“The last three ranks through Eagle include learning and actively being leaders in the troop,” Emmons said. “Then ultimately, they have to do an Eagle Scout project which is supposed to benefit their community somehow, and where they’re leading others in doing it.”
They also have to earn at least 21 merit badges, Emmons reported. Those merit badges can be for such things as first aid, swimming, and learning how to be organized.
Emmons said that all four of the young men deserve to be Eagle Scouts — beyond having fulfilled the requirements. “All four are really good people,” he said.
Troop 60 Committee Chair Charlie Zidek said that he has known the four Scouts since first grade. “All four of them were best friends, which is really cool,” Zidek said. “It’s really great to watch them mature year after year after year.”
He praised the skills the four have learned through scouting, including leadership skills and society skills. “They are stewards of service, and it’s been great to watch,” Zidek said.
Ryan Frels said he joined Cub Scouts when he was six because “my brother was in scouting and my dad encouraged me, too.” He said that he saw several friends joining and thought it would be interesting.
One of his favorite experiences in scouting was earning the climbing merit badge, Frels said.
He said that he stayed in scouting because “seeing how other people in my troop were being affected by reaching Eagle was really motivational.”
For his service project to reach Eagle Scout, Frels said, “At Lakeside Cemetery in Libertyville, we cleaned 130 veteran headstones from the Civil War to recent. And we put medallion markers by each of them, labeling their veteran status.”
Being an Eagle Scout means “having respect for myself and others,” Frels said. “It takes a lot to get there. Being able to respect myself, my time, and others who support me is what got me there.”
Frels plans to study kinesiology in college, hoping to become a physical therapist, but hasn’t chosen a school yet.
The Scoutmaster praised Frels, saying, “I was on a two-week backpack trip with Ryan and other scouts, and Ryan was our Scout leader on this trip and did a phenomenal job.”
Marcos Monoe said he became a Cub Scout because, “I had a lot of friends that had done it and I thought it was a really interesting opportunity because of all the cool things you’re able to do.”
Monroe said he had a lot of interesting experiences as a Scout. He said he learned “how being a Scout can help people with college and with job applications.”
Monroe’s favorite experiences as a Scout were camping with his friends.
For his Eagle Scout project, Monroe said, “I knew the Libertyville Township Supervisor from my church.” She suggested building boxes for wood ducks, which are native to Lake County.
“They are nesting birds,” he said. “They build nests inside of holes of trees but with trees being chopped down, they’re losing part of their habitat. I built five wood duck boxes that could simulate a home for them.”
Being an Eagle Scout “is the culmination of twelve years of hard work,” Monroe said. “It’s a thing of pride for me.”
Monroe is planning to study mechanical engineering, either at the University of Illinois or Purdue.
“Marcos Monroe showed really strong leadership skills very early,” Emmons said.
“Originally, I joined Cub Scouts because I wanted another place to hang out with my friends,” said Nick Vortherms. “Going into Boy Scouts, a lot of it was seeing the older Scouts—how they acted, their character. I wanted to replicate that.”
His favorite experiences as a Scout, also included camping.
For his Eagle Scout project, Vortherms created a new bullpen area for his high school, Carmel Catholic. “I created some turf mounds and backstop netting so that if it’s raining or there’s snow on the ground, we can still use mounds and still pitch and catch.”
Being an Eagle Scout is about “the dedication and work I had to put into it,” Vortherms said. “It was a tough path trying to balance that and sports and all the things that high schoolers have to do but it is also super fun, and I got to learn a lot of stuff about me and about the world.”
Vortherms plans to major in mechanical engineering but hasn’t chosen a school yet.
“Nick has always been a great leader. If you ask him for help on something, he does it right away, and he gets very good results,” Emmons said.
James Willemsen said that when he started scouting, “at first it was mostly my parents pushing me in that direction. But later on, I really found a passion for it.”
Camping was also his favorite experience as a Scout.
For his Eagle Scout project, Willemsen made garden beds for his high school. “I demolished the old ones, got new wood, created the garden boxes, and put them in place.” The raised garden beds will provide fresh produce for food-insecure families.
Being an Eagle Scout “means being responsible and dedicated,” Willemsen said. “It takes a lot of work, and there’s no way you’re going to get there if you’re not really disciplined and dedicated to it.”
Willemsen plans to study mechanical engineering at the University of Illinois at Champaign.
“James is also another Scout I saw develop his leadership skills. When you’re cleaning up after a meeting, he’s diving in and really helping out,” Emmons said.
Because they are now or will soon be 18, the four Eagle Scouts will age out of the Scouts, although they can become adult leaders, Emmons said. “In terms of being Eagle Scouts, there’s prestige. People have a pretty high opinion of somebody being an Eagle Scout.”
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
