Local church inducts five new Eagle Scouts

Published 1:00 pm Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Becoming an Eagle Scout is no easy task. One must spend years polishing skills and serving his community. When a Boy Scout does finally earn that hallowed badge, it’s worth an entire family’s celebration. However, when five young men achieve this status simultaneously, it beckons the praise of an entire community. 

Last week during a ceremony held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Milledgeville, five young men received the honor while surrounded by close friends and family. 

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The boys: Thayer Seabrook, William Smith and brothers Skyler, Isaac and Dakota Hard all hail from Troop 318, which centers its operation at the church on Jefferson Street.

These scouts have each spent several years proving themselves to be worthy of the honor, which approximately five percent of Boy Scouts achieve, according to the National Eagle Scout Association. To achieve this rank, scouts must earn 21 merit badges and plan, develop and give leadership to a service project that benefits the community.

“They’ve all put the work in,” said Cordes Seabrook, troop leader and father to Thayer. “They’ve each gone to summer camp every summer and earned as many badges as they can to get to where they are. Diligence is the first word I would use to describe these boys.”

Seabrook, the oldest of the scouts, is 21 years old and perhaps had the most to overcome to get to where he is today. Thayer is a “healthy, 21-year-old who has Down Syndrome,” his mother, Georgia, said. 

The family is very clear in establishing that their son may have Down Syndrome, but he in no way is defined by it. 

Seabrook’s personal résumé certainly agrees with that. With seven years of experience playing percussion in his school band, 11 years of tap, jazz and ballet dance and several years performing with and conducting his church choir, Thayer is undoubtedly a sort of Renaissance man. A “Broadway buff” as his mother describes him, Seabrook enjoys plays like “Wicked” and “Into the Woods.” 

Of the many skills honed during his time with his troop, one of his favorites was cooking. Seabrook mostly enjoys making breakfast for his friends and family. 

On top of all that, the talented scout was elected Homecoming Prince during his junior year of high school. 

For his Eagle project, Seabrook collected and cleaned 106 pairs of men’s shoes to be donated to the local Salvation Army. He got word that men’s shoes were in high demand and the store had trouble keeping them in stock and took it upon himself to solve this problem with the help of the community by going door-to-door collecting used shoes. 

One neighbor, who had no used shoes to donate, went out and purchased a pair of brand new work boots just for Seabrook’s cause. 

He’s not the only Eagle Scout with a unique story, however. Brothers Skyler, Isaac and Dakota Hard (18, 16 and 15, respectively) have their own stories to tell.

Raised by single mother Autumn Hard, the boys each chose a father figure to whom they presented their Father’s Pin during the ceremony. Each brother chose someone who they believe has been essential in their journey to the Eagle Scout rank. 

It doesn’t take more than a glance to know these three are brothers: they very much look the part. But beyond that, these three couldn’t be more different. 

Skyler, the oldest, enjoys music and boasts an impressive mental catalogue of music trivia. 

“Ask him anything about any band and he’ll know it,” said his mother.

For his Eagle Project, Skyler collected more than $550 worth of requested items for the Ronald McDonald House.

His mother marked Isaac as the most active. He loves to canoe and has biked across the state multiple times, claiming to have logged more than 2,000 miles. 

When it came time to decide on an Eagle Project, Isaac noticed GNETS of Oconee, where his mother works, had no library for the students there. Over the next few months, Isaac managed to collect more than 200 books of all reading levels for the students at GNETS.

Dakota, the youngest of the three, chalks up his early Eagle Scout rank to his competitive spirit. He simply wasn’t willing to sit back and watch his brothers earn their badges without him. Dakota spends his time reading and playing chess. He hopes to be a U.S. Marine one day.

For his Eagle Project, Dakota also sought to help his mother’s workplace. Dakota spearheaded a landscaping overhaul for the school’s driveway that allowed for much easier access for the larger vehicles that deliver food to the cafeteria. 

The fifth scout inducted that day was William Smith, 18. Much like the other scouts, Smith has been in the same troop since a very young age. For Smith, he found a home in Troop 318 when he moved here from Florida at the age of 8 and has grown close with his fellow scouts over years of summer camps. His favorite badge earned at summer camp was Small Boat Sailing.

Smith is also very involved at school as a member of marching band, Students against Destructive Decisions and the Future Business Leaders of America.

For his Eagle Scout Project, Smith did something that benefited many families for long to come. He put together a team that surveyed a cemetery in Twiggs County where he himself has family buried. The cemetery had never before been surveyed and catalogued. 

After gathering his information, Smith partnered with computer science students at Georgia College and built a website that made this information available to anyone else who may be looking for a family member’s long lost grave. 

Much like Seabrook and Skyler, Smith is now old enough to be sent on mission by his church. The boys became eligible at 18 years old and are all excited to see the world and spread word of their beliefs. The boys do not yet know where they will be sent. 

“He doesn’t care where they send him, he just wants to serve,” said Smith’s mother, Jennifer Smith. 

The rarity of five inductees into the ranks of the Eagle Scouts is an astonishing occurrence, but the individual accomplishments of these young men proves they earned every bit of it.