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Overcast Boy Scouts complete Eagle journey together
Together from their first days in Cub Scouts, four boys earned their Eagle rank together at a Court of Honor ceremony on July 17.
Troop 369 Boy Scouts Salvatore Buttafuoco, of Valley Stream, Clayton Ambers, Richard Capo and William Hunter, all of Malverne, each achieved their longtime goal of becoming an Eagle Scout. Dozens of family members, friends, scouts, scout leaders and local officials joined them at Blessed Sacrament Church to celebrate their accomplishment — earning the highest honor in scouting.
Capo described the event as “breathtaking.” Excited, yet nervous for his big moment, he said that finally becoming an Eagle Scout was a great feeling.
For Hunter, the ceremony was “bittersweet” because he won’t have as much time for scouting activities when he heads off to college in the fall.
The four scouts all attended the James A. Dever School together and graduated from North High School in June. They were Cub Scouts in the now-defunct Pack 64 before moving on to Boy Scouts in Troop 369.
“I love all those guys,” Ambers said of his fellow Eagle Scouts. “We go way back. It’s really cool that we could do it all at the same time and celebrate.”
One speaker at the Court of Honor noted that only about 3 percent of Boy Scouts nationwide go on to become Eagle Scouts. Ambers said it is nice to join that exclusive group. “I’m excited for the advantages that it yields in life,” he said, adding that Eagle Scout looks good on a job resumé.
Buttafuoco said becoming an Eagle Scout was a goal since his first days of Cub Scouts. “It’s such a great achievement,” he said.
Each scout had to earn at least 21 merit badges and complete a community service project before becoming an Eagle Scout. Ambers planned and supervised the construction of a perennial garden at entrance to the Tanglewood Preserve in Rockville Centre.
