Thomas and Albert Van Fossen of Lewis Center, members of Powell Boy Scout Troop 428, received their Eagle Scout rank at a double Eagle Court of Honor at Worthington Christian Church last Sunday.
Twins Thomas and Albert have been active in Boy Scouts for 12 years. Both are seniors at Olentangy Orange High School.
Currently, Thomas is the design captain on the Olentangy district’s first robotics team, OZONE3. He also plays trumpet in the symphonic band and is a member of the Principal’s Advisory Group, as well as National Honor Society.
After high school, Thomas plans to study mechanical engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
Albert is currently competing on the varsity wrestling team at Orange. After being a three-year varsity starter on the football team, Albert plans to study business and play collegiate football. He is also a member of National Honor Society.
Both young men have held a variety of leadership positions in Troop 428 and say they look forward to serving in the troop as assistant Scoutmasters.
To earn the Eagle Scout rank, the highest advancement rank in scouting, Thomas and Albert were each required to fulfill requirements in the area of leadership, community service and outdoor skills.
Also as part of the Eagle requirement, each scout completed an Eagle Scout service project.
Thomas helped the youth leaders at Worthington Christian Church develop storage solutions to better utilize a large storage area where supplies are kept for vacation Bible school, the church’s largest community outreach program. He led a group in thoroughly cleaning out and organizing the space. In addition, he supervised the building of six heavy-duty wooden shelves to assist in keeping the area in order.
Albert worked with the maintenance staff of the church to rescue the children’s playground. A broken swing set, two hazardous benches and six inches of mulch were removed. With Albert’s guidance, a group of volunteers installed a layer of weed barrier, a thick bed of new mulch and two strong wooden benches. Finally, the picket fence was repaired and received a fresh coat of white paint.
Both young men had to create a budget, raise funds, purchase materials and finally organize and lead a team of scouts, parents and friends to complete their projects. Thomas’ and Albert’s projects collectively required more than 500 hours of community service.
Sunday’s Court of Honor was attended by fellow scouts, family and friends. Letters of recognition from U.S. Sen. Rob Portman and U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi were read during the ceremony.