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Noah Maier earns the rank of Eagle Scout as freshman

The Maier family poses for pictures after the ceremony. “My family has been a huge help,” freshman Noah Maier said. “A lot of my peers from scouting and friends from school were also always there to support me and work with me. It was a big help from a lot of people, and I appreciated it.”

Alexis Megdanoff, Editor in Chief
December 21, 2015

Earning the highest rank in any organization is something for one to be proud of. When only four percent of participants earn this rank, it distinguishes the achievers from the rest of the organization. This is the case for freshman Noah Maier.

After years of leadership roles and community service, Maier was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout on Dec 4 at the Fenton United Methodist Church. Friends, family, and other members of Troop 212 gathered in support for Maier as he was presented the award.

“Once I got up to the real ceremony,” Maier said, “I just kind of looked out and thought, ‘Wow, this is really happening; it’s really here. I’ve been looking for this day for the last eight years.’ It was a really cool thing to come by and I was really excited.”

The requirements to be an Eagle Scout are extensive and require advancement through seven ranks, earning more than 20 different badges, at least six months in a troop leadership position and the completion of a service project that benefits the surrounding community. Maier chose to fix up some of Mill Pond Park for his project, spending five to six hours each day for two weeks on it. The whole process of planning and then executing took about a month to complete. As a way to reward him for his service, Mayor Susan Osborn presented him with a plaque declaring what he did for the city.

“I wanted to do something, some kind of proclamation for him, because of the project he did for the city and because he is such a nice, young boy,” Osborn said. “I think he has a lot to offer [to Fenton]. He has already done so much for the community; this troop does a lot of work for us, so we’re very grateful to all of them.”

Mayor Osborn presents Noah Maier with an award of appreciation. "I had known him [Mr. Osborn] from when I was in catechism class, or youth group, and he was a good friend of mine through that so I had asked him to write a letter," Maier said. "I had invited him and his wife in thanks for that. He had texted me and asked if it was okay if she presented me with that at the meeting and I said yes." — PHOTO Alexis Megdanoff
Mayor Osborn presents Noah Maier with an award of appreciation. “I had known him [Mr. Osborn] from when I was in catechism class, or youth group, and he was a good friend of mine through that so I had asked him to write a letter of recommendation for my Eagle Scout application,” Maier said. “I had invited him and his wife in thanks for that. He had asked if it was okay if she presented me with that [award] at the meeting and I said yes.”

Maier began scouting in first grade after listening to scout leader Tim Galvin speak about scouting at his elementary school. He went home to tell his mother his wish to join the organization and as word circulated the family, he discovered his uncle was an Eagle Scout. It was then that he made a goal to make the rank as well.

“It was kind of a race to see if I could get it before he did age wise, but he beat me,” Maier said. “He got it a year before I did.”

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With the help of his family and fellow Boy Scouts, Maier estimates more than 200 man hours were logged over the course of his Eagle Scout project.

To Maier, Boy Scouts is not just a means to a title. He sees it as a program meant to inspire people to push through the hard times and work for accomplishments in life.

With the status of Eagle being the highest rank for Boy Scouts, Maier is now allowed to move in other directions within the organization.

“There’s a few things you can do called Eagle Palms with extra service hours and merit badges, so I want to get those,” Maier said. “But, I also want to involve myself more in the Order of the Arrow which is scouting’s national honor society where there’s a lot of service work and I want to inspire to hopefully one day become a scout master and help pass down what I’ve learned to new people and keep the tradition of scouting going.”

Outside of scouts, Maier’s future is still to be determined.