Florida Catholic | Local Scouts Earn Honors

Local Scouts earn honors

The Catholic Scouting recognition awards ceremony and Mass took place June 8 at the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola.

PAT LANGFORD and LINDA REEVES | FLORIDA CATHOLIC STAFF

Published: 07.03.08

JASON COLLINS | FC
Hundreds of Scouts fill the pews of the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola in Palm Beach Gardens.

PALM BEACH GARDENS | A deadly tornado that hit a Boy Scout camp in Iowa and subsequent stories of how the boys’ bravery and preparation kept the tragedy from being worse had Scouts and their leaders in the Diocese of Palm Beach thinking about the role of Scouting in their lives.

“As a Girl Scout, you try to be a good person and help others,” said Brynn Carlson, an 18-year-old graduate of John Carroll High School in Stuart who has been involved in Scouting since kindergarten. “That shows you how important Scouting is. I have had hundreds of hours of first aid (training).”

The diocese annually pays tribute to Catholic boys and girls in Scouting. This year, coincidentally, the Mass took place just days before the Iowa storm killed four Boy Scouts and injured 48. The destruction shocked the nation, but in the tornado’s aftermath came stories of young heroes responding to help the injured. The Florida Catholic contacted a few of the more than 100 Scouts ages 6 to 18 who were honored at Mass and their leaders for their reactions.

“It’s a sad day of Scouting for that to happen,” said Jeff Isaac, Scout executive with Gulfstream Council of Boy Scouts of America, the local council headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens. “It’s almost impossible to handle a direct hit. They had a direct hit.

“The good thing about it is it did happen in a Boy Scout camp where people knew what to do,” he said. “The boys acted very brave. They did what they were trained to do in Scouting. Being prepared in Boy Scouts is a big deal for us. Those young men did a good job in living up to that.”

The Catholic Scouting recognition awards ceremony and Mass took place June 8 at the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola in Palm Beach Gardens with Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito presiding. The Diocese of Palm Beach Catholic Scouting program started in 1989. This year, five Scouts, including Carlson, were singled out for Catholic Scouting’s top national awards.

“Typically, we have one (honoree) a year,” said Mary Flack of the Scouting program. “This year, we have four girls earning the top award and one boy, which is very unusual.”

The young women earned the “Spirit Alive Award,” a national recognition designed for Catholic Senior Girl Scouts for activities focused on Bible and church studies. One Boy Scout earned the Pope Pius XII Emblem, the highest national award for Catholic Boy Scouts.

“I use my Scouting everyday,” Carlson, a member of St. Joseph Parish in Stuart, told the Florida Catholic. “You pick up trash. You try to be considerate. All the community service that you are doing with Girl Scouts is the same kind of community service that you are being called to do through your faith.”

Christina Pengelley, an 18-year-old parishioner at Our Lady Queen of the Apostles in Royal Palm Beach who teaches religion classes at St. John Fisher in West Palm Beach, was another award winner. She said that the Girl Scout pledge, which includes attributes such as friendly, helpful, considerate and caring “are the same values that the Catholic Church teaches.”

Maria Fernandez and Jacquelyn-My Do, both 18, were the other two winners.

“It is the biggest award you can get for Catholic Girl Scouts,” said Fernandez, who sings in the choir at St. Francis of Assisi in Riviera Beach and works with a youth group at St. John Fisher. “It’s a big honor to get it. We worked really hard for the award. We study our religion and what it means to be Catholic, and go out into the community and do a series of projects in the community or with our troop or in our church.”

William O’Leary, a member of St. Sebastian Parish in Sebastian, took home the Pope Pius XII Emblem. An Eagle Scout going into his senior year at Indian River Charter School, he completed various assignments and performed hours of service leading up to his recognition.

“Each leader had a group of kids,” he said about his work with youngsters at Bible camp. “We would lead the kids in the activities and demonstrate things for them.”

His mother, Mary Ann O’Leary, watched the news about the Iowa Scouts.

“They were incredible,” she said about the brave boys who pitched in to help the injured. When asked about how her son, who has been in Scouting for more than 10 years, might react to a similar emergency situation, she quickly responded.

“He could handle it,” the confident mom said.

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