The honor came in recognition of the Troop's latest group of 13 Eagle Scouts, all of whom stayed together as a group from the time they earned their Arrow of Light Award as Webelos Scouts until they earned their Eagle Scout Award as seniors in high school. Most had started together as Tiger Cubs when they were in the first grade at Sharon Elementary School. On their Trail to Eagle, these Scouts have enjoyed numerous high adventure trips, including backpacking at Philmont Scout Ranch and the Grand Canyon, attending the 2005 National Scout Jamboree, canoeing in Maine, and sailing in the British Virgin Islands and Belize.

Fewer than 5% of boys who start in Scouting make it to the Eagle rank. And it is an extremely rare occurrence for so many who joined together to stay together in the same troop throughout their Scouting career and all earn their Eagle Award. There are only a handful of documented cases like this in the United States.

The thirteen Scouts - Kevin Baker, Taylor Bell, Gray Cherry, Justin Davis, Clark Howell, Alex Lang, Kevin Lang, Charlie Middlebrooks, Brian O'Bannon, Clark O'Bannon, Paul Taylor, Abbott Trotter, and Addison Williams - were also honored in a February 2009 front-page story in The Charlotte Observer. In that story, Gray Cherry said, "I know there's a perception that Scouting is dweebish, but I never felt like a dweeb. Some friends would laugh when we said we had to go to a Scout meeting. But I liked being a part of something really meaningful."

All of these young men are honor students and many rank in the top 10% of their high school senior class. They all have many outstanding accomplishments, ranging from talented musicians, to nationally honored math competitors, to captains of their varsity football, soccer, wrestling, and swim teams. One was the tournament MVP of his undefeated state championship soccer team last fall. All are headed to excellent colleges. There is not a "dweeb" among them. Several have already registered as Adult Scouters to continue their volunteer service in Scouting. We are proud to have these young men represent Troop 116 as Eagle Scouts.