Soaring with the Eagles: Trio of Scouts honored

ALBANY — There was so much about the ceremony that elevated three members of local Scout troops to the level of Eagle Scout that could be described as historic, it’s hard to know where to begin.

There was the recognition of the first two female Scouts — Reece Ellion and Grace Mallow, both 18 — in the area council to attain Eagle Scout status, an amazing accomplishment for Troop 13, which was chartered on Feb. 1, 2019, the first day that female troops were officially allowed into Scouting.

There was also the fact that two of the three Eagle Scouts honored were brother and sister.

As remarkable, though, was the bestowing of Eagle Scout status, Scouting’s highest level, upon Blaine Ellion — Reece’s younger brother — who as a 13-year-old eighth-grader, already has collected 127 of Scouting’s 136 merit badges.

“You are now indelibly stamped for life as an Eagle Scout,” Troop 13 Scout Master Jennifer Davis told the trio as the impressive ceremony wound down. “You’ve shown with your years of hard work, by collecting at least 21 merit badges, your community service, completion of your signature service projects and your standing with this Board of Review that you will be an honor to Scouting.”

Much of the excitement swirling around the Eagle Scout ceremony, held at Stonebridge Country Club, focused on the gender-first accomplishments of Reece Ellion and Mallow. Despite the short period of time Troop 13 had been chartered, each met the Eagle Scout requirements in rapid fashion.

“This means a lot to me; I’ve met a lot of amazing people and made some lasting friendships in Scouting,” Reece Ellion said. “I’ve learned a number of valuable life skills and enjoyed some great experiences.

“There was a level of difficulty to reach this level before I aged out, so this definitely was a big deal to me.”

Mallow said she takes seriously the opportunity to stand as an example for other members of Troop 13.

“What this shows to the younger girls in the troop is that they can accomplish this, too,” the 18-year-old St. Teresa’s School senior said. “I think it encourages others to realize that if they are willing to do the work, they can reach this level.

“Being the senior patrol leader made it difficult at times, but knowing that there was the opportunity for this kind of accomplishment made it worth the work.”

Mallow renovated the high school bathrooms at St. Teresa’s as her service project, one of the requirements of Eagle Scouts, while Reece Ellion’s project was the development of an Art-o-Mat fundraiser for the Albany Museum of Art.

“This is wonderful; I’m so proud as a Scout Leader and as a ‘mom’ to all these girls,” Davis said. “I think Reece and Grace are going to be an inspiration for others. We started our troop with several girls whose brothers were Scouts, and they wanted to be a part of it.

“We have several members of our troop on the verge of obtaining Eagle Scout requirements, so (Ellion and Mallow) are going to be the first of what we hope are many. We have girls in our troop from Americus, Sylvester and Cordele, so this is something a lot of girls in the area had been waiting for.”

Sabine Patton, Troop 13’s assistant scout master, said the accomplishment of the first two female Eagle Scouts in the district is especially memorable for her because girls were not allowed the opportunity in her native Austria.

“This is very important to me because, while both of my sons made Eagle Scout, in Austria girls were not allowed to do so,” Patton, who has been in America for 26 years, said. “Now, my daughter (who is 14) sees that she has the opportunity, too.

“Reece and Grace showed the persistence of their character by doing what they had to do to reach this level, and I feel certain other girls will follow their lead. We have six girls in our troop that will reach this level soon.”

Blaine Ellion, who is in Troop 15, said the milestone is “not the end of the road” for him. The 13-year-old has an ambitious goal as he continues his Scouting career.

“It was difficult getting some of the merit badges because, with COVID, I had to do a lot of virtual stuff,” he said. “I have a goal of getting all 136 Scouting merit badges.”

Ellion, whose service project was building octagon picnic tables at Deerfield-Windsor School, said he’s received great support from many of his DWS friends.

“Our school is playing for the state football championship tonight,” he said. “But a lot of my friends didn’t go to the game (in Macon) so that they could come here for the ceremony.”

Dan Gillan, who serves as the charter organization rep for the regional council, said the “unique” Eagle Scout ceremony underscores the value of Scouting.

“In general, this is an amazing accomplishment,” Gillan said. “I think these Scouts’ meeting the requirements to become Eagle Scouts enhances their character development, their life experiences, their values and their leadership skills.”

Charter organization President Tony Blakey, an attorney who is leaving Albany and thus stepping down from the position that was the last he held in his 16 years with Scouting, said the opportunity that has him moving to St. Louis is a “bittersweet” one.

“Seeing my three sons and all these other young men — and, now, ladies — become leaders is the greatest part of the experience for me,” he said. “Events like tonight give me hope and optimism. In a world that has, in a lot of ways, gone bad, seeing these Scouts and all they do has kept me going.”

Staff Photo: Carlton Fletcher