By Roslyn Ryan
Editor

When Richard Freeman was presented with his official Eagle Scout medal last Saturday, he joined a fraternity populated by former presidents, famous athletes and Noble Prize-winning scientists. And while none of those men was on hand to see the Powhatan High School student receive his honor, one very important fellow Eagle Scout was: Richard’s father James.

The event marked an important milestone in Richard’s scouting career, and represented an impressive achievement: out of every 100 Boy Scouts, only two will ever achieve the rank of Eagle Scout.
For Richard, 16, as with any other Eagle hopeful, the honor came after years of climbing the ranks, countless merit badges earned, and one very involved community service project.  A member of Troop 1838, Freeman spent several months last summer working to rehabilitate two ponds in Powhatan’s Wildlife Management area.

The project included not only pulling a mountain of debris from clogged drainage pipes, but also coordinating with Luck Stone to secure donation of the stone and equipment used to repair and grade the badly rutted access roads leading to the site.
“He was a joy to work with,” said Wildlife Management Area Supervisor David Ellinghausen, who helped oversee Freeman’s project. “He is just a take-charge, energetic young man.”

Achieving the rank of Eagle Scout has been a source of pride for Freeman, a JROTC student who is also very involved in his church, Holly Hills Baptist. But he seems even more excited about mentoring other young scouts just coming up through the ranks.
“There is so much you can do in Boy Scouts,” he said. “The best thing is to see the feeling of pride on [new Scouts’] faces, the feeling of accomplishment. They feel like they can do anything.”