Published: May 15, 2008 11:30 pm      

Ceremony celebrates 95 area youth who earn Eagle Scout status

EBENSBURG — Louis Kopczyk, a longtime Boy Scout leader from Clymer, could not have had a brighter smile as he watched a stream of Eagle Scouts enter the Imperial Room on Thursday evening.

Kopczyk’s grandson, Adam Cohn of Penn Run, was among 95 Eagle Scouts in the Penn’s Woods Council of the Boy Scouts who were honored for attaining that rank in 2007.

Kopczyk, who has five sons and four grandsons that are Eagle Scouts, said the Boys Scouts is a great organization.

Guest speaker Robin Quillon, publisher of The Tribune-Democrat, told the crowd of 240 people that the values the Boys Scouts teach are important and that, more than ever before, should be shouted from the rooftops.

Quillon, a former Boy Scout himself and whose son, Ty, is an Eagle Scout, said that behind every Scout is a dedicated father and mother and other caring people.

Eagle Scout James Martin of Blairsville said being recognized at the banquet was a great honor and one he will remember the rest of his life.

Bryan Hottle of Somerset agreed.

“Along with it comes the sense that you are a marked man,” said Hottle, who belongs a Sipesville troop. “You have new responsibilities and you just have a heightened awareness to do the right thing.”

Eagle Scout Michael Wozniak of Westmont, a member of Troop 217 in Westmont, reflected on the recognition.

“It’s great,” he said. “It’s one of the best things that could have happened to me.”

To be an Eagle Scout you have to be a leader and a follower, Wozniak said. Leadership and cooperating with others are qualities that will be important throughout life, he said.

Dan Stover, an Eagle Scout from Warriors Mark, Huntingdon County, was proud to have members of his family and friends at his side.

Paul I. Detwiler III of Bedford was the distinguished honoree for his contributions to Scouting.

He has been instrumental in moving the organization forward in Bedford and Somerset counties, said Michele Brenneman, a senior district executive for Penn’s Woods Council.

Detwiler said it was an honor to be recognized. He said the Boy Scouts is a great program that helps to instill values and provides Scouts with the skills to succeed in life.