Eagle Scout elected to regional position
When a Cub Scout joins the Boy Scouts of America, he envisions a sash laden with merit badges, eerie ghost stories by the campfire, pinewood derbies, snitching cookies from the Girl Scouts – and earning the honor of being named an Eagle Scout. The rank of Eagle Scout carries with it a special significance, not only in Scouting, but also in daily life as he enters higher education, business, industry and community service. The award is a performance-based achievement with standards that have been intact over the years. Not every boy who joins a Boy Scout troop earns the Eagle Scout rank; in fact, only about 5 percent of all Boy Scouts will earn that title.
Twenty-year-old Kenneth J. Hager of Smock is one of the proud few who have attained this, and many other honors during his time as a Boy Scout.
He joined the Scouts as a Tiger Cub in kindergarten.
“You might say that I’ve been in the Scouts longer,” Hager said.” My father is a Scoutmaster for Troop 610 here in town; they just celebrated their 50th anniversary as a troop. He has the longest tenure of Scoutmasters in our council. I believe it’s 25 years. And when I was about 2 months old, my parents had a Scout uniform made for me.”
The tiny uniform would be the only rush into the Scouts.
“My father, even though he was the Scoutmaster, made sure to keep me as far away from the Boy Scouts as possible. Of course, when I was old enough to be in Tiger Cubs I was, and when I was old enough to be in Cub Scouts, I was. But my Dad never took me on a Boy-Scouting trip when I was just a little boy, so I never grew up through the ranks too fast.”
Fast or not, right before his 16th birthday, Hager had completed all the requirements to earn his place among the Eagle Scouts and then began moving through the ranks of council.
On Dec. 28, Hager was elected the region chief of the Northeast for the Order of the Arrow, an honor society for Boy Scouts of America, and will serve on the Order of the Arrow National Committee this year.
The Northeast region serves more than 44,000 Order of the Arrow members in more than 75 lodges across the northeastern United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Transatlantic Council, spanning across the globe. His new position will take him in the coming days and months to Puerto Rico and Okinawa, Japan. He will be in New York Sunday speaking at a lodge banquet, and Monday and Tuesday in Boston, doing the same.
One of the issues Hager feels strong about and would like to change is the role the Boy Scouts play in the war efforts of today. In 2005, the Boy Scouts had their National Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia and found that the American Civil Liberties Union wasn’t happy that the Boy Scouts were meeting on a military base.
“I’m not sure why the Boy Scouts of today aren’t given more credit, or asked to do more,” Hager said. “In earlier war times, we were asked by presidents to sell war bonds, gather scrap metal, put notices up showing where the bomb shelters were … we played a part.”
When Hager is at home, he is an Alpha Lambda Delta sophomore at California University of Pennsylvania, working toward a degree in secondary education. His goal is to teach history and social studies and is considering a dual major in European history. He’s carrying a 3.8 grade-point average. He also works at the State Theatre Center for the Arts in Uniontown as a technician for the shows, working lights and sound.
Of Cal U and Fayette County, he said, “I wouldn’t go anywhere else. I live at home and commute, I have a car I can use, and it’s cheaper … I tell everyone at Cal U that they should live at home,” he said with a laugh.
Hager also is acutely aware of the graduates fleeing Fayette County each year, and said that he truly hopes to find work in one of the local schools when he graduates.
“I try telling my friends that nothing will get better in Fayette County if we don’t stay here and do something about it,” he said. “I want to be a schoolteacher here so I can inspire the kids to do as I plan to do … stay here.”