Gaithersburg Boy Scout Troop 1760 to Honor Five Eagle Scouts at May 13 Ceremony (PHOTO)

Boy Scout Troop 1760 will honor the advancement of five Scouts to the rank of Eagle Scout at a ceremony May 13 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Pathways Baptist Church located at 200 W. Diamond Avenue in Gaithersburg.

Only four percent of Scouts attain Eagle Scout, the highest rank of the Boy Scouts of America.

Sean Fitzgerald, Ethan Jacobsen, Jered Lottes, Jonathan Malament, and James Romano earned their Eagle badge for planning, developing and providing leadership in a community service project.

Sean Fitzgerald, a junior at Poolesville High School in Poolesville was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout on Jan. 27, having earned 27 merit badges and completing his service project. Sean’s project was sponsored by Montgomery County Parks and involved trail building at North Branch Valley Park in Derwood. He cleared a 4 foot wide path about one mile long of grasses, weeds, bushes, rocks, roots, vines, tree limbs, barbed wire and debris. The tools used, supplied by Montgomery County, were McLeods and root cutters. The trail is now open and ready to be used by hikers or bicyclists.

Ethan Jacobsen, a senior at Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg, was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout on Dec. 2, 2016, having earned 23 Merit badges and completing his service project. Ethan’s project was to design and construct an above ground tunnel for the Meadowside Nature Center’s “Play Scapes” outdoor discovery area for children. The tunnel was creatively built by interconnecting large metal ‘hoops’ into a semi-circular layout. Native ‘Virginia Creeper’ vines were planted along the perimeter and will eventually cover the framework creating a natural ‘green’ tunnel. This challenging and intricate project took almost a year to plan, coordinate and execute. Meadowside Nature Center was thrilled to add this interactive component to their growing educational facility which promotes discovery and learning by the Center’s visiting children and their families.

Jered Lottes earned the rank of Eagle Scout Oct. 28, 2016, having earned 21 merit badges and completing a service project. Jered graduated from Gaithersburg High School in 2016. He was in the Science and Technology Academy at the school and plans on majoring in computer systems management and engineering. He is currently attending Montgomery College. Jered built Little Free Libraries for the City of Gaithersburg.

Jonathan Malament earned the rank of Eagle Scout April 28, is a homeschooled junior, simultaneously dual enrolled in classes at Montgomery College. Jonathan has earned a total of 30 merit badges. His project was the reforestation and reclamation of a half-mile section of hiking path in Little Bennett Park. The section of forest, formerly a hiking trail which has now been rerouted, will return to its more natural state of trees and ground cover, restoring habitat to wild animals. Public visiting Little Bennett Park can hike and enjoy nature, benefiting from the work of this Eagle Scout and his group of volunteers. Jonathan is currently investigating colleges and considering his major, which might be Strategic Intelligence or some type of engineering. Ultimately Jonathan has his eye on becoming a U.S. Air Force Officer, possibly a pilot.

James Romano, a senior at Northwest High School in Germantown, was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout on March 24, having earned 21 merit badges and completing his service project. Jimmy’s project was sponsored by Montgomery County Parks and involved trail building at North Branch Valley Park in Olney. He cleared a 4 foot wide path about one mile long of grasses, weeds, bushes, rocks, roots, vines, tree limbs, barbed wire and debris. He also graded some areas to help with rain run-off. The tools used, supplied by Montgomery County, were McLeods and root cutters and brush loopers. The trail is now open and ready to be used by hikers, cyclists and runners.