Mullis to receive Eagle Scout rank
By Halea Franklin, staff writer
Nathaniel Ryan Mullis of Lyons will receive his Eagle Scout rank at a special Eagle Court of Honor Ceremony on Sunday.
“I think it’s a great privilege and honor to be able to earn it,” Mullis said.
Mullis, the son of William (Buck) and Judy Mullis, earned his Eagle Scout rank by completing 33 merit badges. For a community service project, Mullis said, he poured a concrete floor and ramp for a shelterhouse in Lyons.
A junior at White River Valley High School, Mullis is involved in band, baseball, basketball, drama, FFA, Fang Gang, Helping Our Peers Excel (HOPE), Teens in Love with Christ (TLC) and 4-H.
He’s a member of the Order of the Arrow and has been honored as a vigil member. He’s performed as a Ridge Runner, an Elangomat and has been chosen to perform three of four different characters on the ceremonies team.
Mullis, who’s older brother Tyler received his Eagle Scout rank in October 2004, has been active in the Boy Scouts of America Program since April 1996.
Mullis hopes other boys will follow the example set by him and his brother and get involved in Boy Scouts.
Mullis said Boy Scouts is more than just camping. He said he’s learned life skills, such as cooking.
According to the Boy Scouts of America Web site, the rank of Eagle Scout is the highest a Boy Scout can receive. Only four percent of all Boy Scouts of America achieve this rank.
Some famous Eagle Scouts include Indiana Sen. Richard G. Lugar and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield; former President Gerald R. Ford; William C. DeVries, M.D., a surgeon and educator who transplanted the first artificial heart; H. Ross Perot, founder of Electronic Data Systems Corporation and the Perot Group; and Pulitzer Prize winning author Harris Salisbury.
To become an Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts must fulfill requirements in the areas of leadership, service and outdoor skills.
Boys must earn 21 of the 120 available merit badges. Merit badges signify the mastery of Scoutcraft skills and help boys increase their skill in an area of personal interest, according to the Boy Scouts of America Web site.
Twelve badges are required. They are first aid, citizenship in the community, citizenship in the nation, citizenship in the world, communications, environmental science, personal fitness, personal management, camping and family life. Scouts also have the choice between emergency preparedness and lifesaving, and between cycling, hiking and swimming.
Mullis said his favorite badges to earn were Indian lore and hiking. For his hiking badge, he went to Philmont, N.M.
“We hiked over 70 miles in 10 days,” he said.
Source: The Daily World, Greenville County
March 17, 2006