- October 30, 2024
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Four Eagle Scout badges were awarded in a Feb. 8 Court of Honor at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as the church said goodbye to Troop 492.
Dallen Hoffmann, Anderson Hoffmann, Jackson McMillan and Grant McMillan all earned Boy Scouts' highest honor, and they were joined in the ceremony by three others who had earned their badges from the troop last year: David Wilcox, Logan Raymond and Joseph Hoffmann.
Scoutmaster Roger Thompson, who tirelessly encouraged each of the scouts as they progressed, read letters of commendation to them from Mayor Milissa Holland, DeLand Stake President Andrew Larson and Florida Sen. Travis Hutson.
The badges likely would not have been awarded if it hadn't been for Thompson, who kept track of the boys' requirements throughout and made multiple trips to the scout office in Orlando to ensure the boys could succeed despite the impending dissolution of the troop. (The Church of Jesus Christ has since replaced the scouting program with its own Children and Youth goal-setting program worldwide.)
Was Thompson ever bothered by the extra work of prodding each boy along?
"Oh, no," he said recently. "If it's for the boys, we'll do it and sing happy songs."
As a thank you, Thompson was given statues of eagles to be used as bookends.
Bunnell resident Dan Wilcox Jr., who was the first person to receive his Eagle badge in the troop, in 1983, addressed the boys and commended them as well.
