Seventeen-year-old Maverick Philbrick of Richmond Hill has earned The Boy Scouts of America's highest advancement, the Eagle Scout Award.
Philbrick was recognized with a proclamation by Mayor Russ Carpenter this week and an official Eagle Court of Honor was held April 30 at St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church. A member of the Coastal Georgia Area Council, Troop 486, Philbrick is one of only approximately six percent of all Scouts who attain the Eagle rank.
Each candidate must earn 22 merit badges and successfully complete a community, church or civic service project to earn his Eagle rank; For his Eagle project, Philbrick led a group of Troop 486 volunteers who built a walkway and firepit at Fort McAllister State Park. The project is located adjacent to the group shelter and overlooks a beautiful marsh landscape.
The project at Fort McAllister was formulated through initial discussions with Ranger Scott Smith. Smith had shared that the group shelter was such a beautiful venue for families to celebrate special occasions and would be an ideal setting for a firepit. Philbrick took this vision and made it a reality by formulating a plan to build both a firepit and walkway leading from the group shelter. He organized the fundraising, purchased the materials and managed the entire work crew through completion.
"I have had so many fun. memories growing up at Fort McAllister though campouts, school field trips and family hikes," said Philbrick. "It means so much that I was able to complete my Eagle Scout project here and be part of future family memories for years to come."
For starters, Maverick's home Troop 486 has already booked the group shelter and campsite for their Annual December Winter Muster flag burning ceremony and campout.
About Coastal Georgia Area Council
The Coastal Georgia Council was chartered on March 1, 2014, with the merger of the former Coastal Empire (Savannah) and Okefenokee (Waycross) Councils but has served Southeast Georgia since Boy Scouting’s inception in 1910. Today more than 5,000 youth and families are served annually in 22 counties including Appling, Bacon, Brantley, Bryan, Bulloch, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Effingham, Evans, Glynn, Jeff Davis, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Pierce, Screven, Tattnall, Toombs, Ware, and Wayne.
About the Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America provides the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training, which helps young people be “Prepared. For Life.®” The Scouting organization is composed of more than 1 million youth members between the ages of 5 and 21 and approximately 460,000 volunteers in local councils throughout the United States and its territories. For more information on the Boy Scouts of America, please visit www.Scouting.org.