Eagle Scout Speech

Eagle Speech
Matthew Netardus

It’s probably not going to come as a surprise to most of you that speeches aren’t really my thing. Beyond that it’s a lot of thinking, there’s a whole lot of food over there and I don’t want to put off eating that for to long. I’m going to start out by naming a few of the many people who were really instrumental in keeping me motivated and making it possible for me to achieve the Eagle rank. I’m going to start off obviously with Mr. Axley our fearless Scoutmaster. Mr. Axley’s encouragement was really important in actually keeping me from quitting scouts once I moved to Virginia Beach; but the more memorable part of his contribution to my pursuit was the Eagle project that he helped on. We had a gas powered post-hole digger, and without Mr. Axley’s muscle contribution, we never would have gotten close to being done. Lastly, however much we may pretend being distracted during his weekly Scoutmaster minute, I know for myself, and I’m betting that I’m not alone, Mr. Axley’s minutes have gotten to act as a weekly inspiration to the troop and I, and had a big part in motivating me to keep with striving for Eagle. The next person that I would like to thank, or perhaps group of people, would be everyone who helped me on my Eagle project work crew. Sister Amy, Mom and Dad, Patrick and Mr. Travis, Ryan and Mr. Levis, Mr. Seutter, Mr. Axley and his son Jesse, Tim Kiefer, and last but surely not least Lt. Zachary. Without all of your contributions I’m pretty sure I’d still be out there digging post holes and raking up the pine needles. Speaking of Lt. Zachary, he was also a big solo influence in reaching Eagle scout, although I haven’t known him for very long, as I met him during my Eagle project; without his help and guidance (and humor) I never would have made it through the entire Eagle project, and would not have had near as much fun after my Eagle Board was all said and done. I would also like to thank each and every scout and parent in this troop, for as much or little as you think you motivated me, the fact that over it all we each support each other helped motivate me to achieve this and to lead the way to which hope everyone in this troop will eventually follow. The next two people had roles that are a bit harder to form into words; their contributions aren’t even something that I could represent with words. It goes without speaking that your parental influences are among the most powerful in your childhood, but that is probably an understatement in this case. Many times I have considered quitting scouts altogether, and each time my parents showed me again why I wanted to stay in scouts, and pursue the Eagle Scout. Even with the Eagle project they were there, not demanding that I do it right then, but reminding me what would happen if I didn’t and letting me make the choice. My favorite part of their influence is the fact that without what they did I wouldn’t be here, but they did just the right things so that I actually am here, and I am the one that completed the Eagle rank, not just them doing everything. I would ask that everyone that I mentioned as helping me reach Eagle stand up, but looking around I don’t see anyone here that didn’t have at least some small part in me achieving this, so everyone that had any part in helping me reach Eagle please sit down and relax and clap for yourselves; actually I just wanted to hear everyone clap after I got done with my little novel up here. Anyway, seeing how my speech already lasted a while longer then I wanted it to, and the ceremony is almost over, I’m going to give way to the next part of the ceremony.