The Peru Gazette

Senior Patrol Leader Hunter Sartwell (Left) led the Eagle Scout Circle of Honor for Thomas C. Gwinn Jr. (Right)

By John T. Ryan

Peru – An impressive ceremony on Sunday, November 11, 2012, climaxed a five-year journey for Thomas Gwinn Jr. In 2007 Gwinn achieved the Boy Scout Tenderfoot rank. Last Sunday he was awarded Boy Scouting’s highest rank – Eagle Scout.  Gwinn’s Court of Honor ceremony was conducted at St. Augustine’s Parish Center as Gwinn’s parents, Thomas and Jennifer Gwinn and over 100 family members, friends, Scouts and Scout leaders looked on. Senior Patrol Leader Hunter Sartwell led the ceremony.

L-R Troop 49 Scout Master Thomas Gwinn Sr., Thomas Gwinn Jr. and Mrs. Jennifer Gwinn

Two hours prior to the Eagle Scout ceremony, Gwinn and other Troop 49 Scouts participated in Veterans Day ceremonies at the Veterans Park on the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base.  Troop 49 Scout Master Thomas Gwinn Sr. said, “My son Tommy has always been interested in the military.  He’s helped maintain the Veterans Park so it wasn’t surprising that his Eagle Scout Project involved the park.”   Gwinn Jr. planted a strategically-placed hedge which should reduce or eliminate the damage resulting from runners and dogs passing through Veterans Park.

Since joining Peru Troop 49 Thomas Gwinn Jr. has earned 29 merit badges, received the Kayak and World Conservation Awards and participated in leadership training and as a Boy Scout camp staff member.  In 2011 he attended the National Scout Jamboree.

The program handed out at the Court of Honor included two very appropriate quotations which Thomas Gwinn Jr. has obviously taken to heart.

“A Scout is clean, but he is not afraid to get dirty.”

“We must change boys from a ‘what can I get’ to a ‘what can I give’ attitude.”

(Click here for more ceremony photos)