Michael Harrison is now among an elite group of young men who have achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. Only 5% of all those who join Boy Scouts show the perseverance and dedication required to become an Eagle Scout.
The past couple weeks have been a whirlwind for Michael Harrison. On May 26th, he was honored by the Hernando Board of County Commissioners for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. He graduated from Springstead High School on June 4th, took the SAT examination on the morning of June 6th and then attended his Eagle Scout Court of Honor ceremony in the afternoon.
Michael is a member of Boy Scout Troop 442. For his Eagle Scout project, he refurbished the wooden platform, bench and fencing at Nature Coast Botanical Garden in Spring Hill. The Eagle Scout project is not a trivial matter. There is a rigorous application and approval process in addition to having the progression of the project monitored on multiple levels. There is also a very strict deadline – the scout’s 18th birthday for the project to be complete.
Any potential Eagle Scout must come up with all funding for the project. Michael Harrison’s mother Ruth Harrison, emphasized,”They [the Eagle Scout applicant] must come up with every cent.” Michael received support from many local businesses. He also applied for and was awarded a Walmart Community Grant from 2 local Walmart stores. He was very thankful that Walmart stepped up to contribute as much as they did, which covered the majority of costs.
Michael thanked his mother and father for helping out throughout the project’s planning and building phases. On the day of construction his entire boy scout troop 442 came out to the Botanical Garden to lend a hand in construction. construction, lasted from 7am to 4pm and included an emergency trip to Home Depot to get more wood to replace that which was found to be rotted.
An important part of Michael’s success was the support he received from his Troop Leaders. Ruth Harrison stated, “The troop is fabulous. They do everything they can to get them where they need to be.” Michael added that there have been 9 Eagle Scouts from his troop in the last five years, which is quite high.
Scouting seems to be in this family’s blood. Ruth Harrison achieved the highest ranking in England, the Queen’s Guide. When Michael’s older sister joined Rainbows in England (a program similar to Girl Scouts in US), he decided that scouting was definitely something he wanted to do. On the day of his 6th birthday, his mother signed him up. His younger brother James is now also involved as a cub scout in troop 303.
Michael has not only honed his leadership skills through the Boy Scouts. At Springstead High School, he was in the Marching Band and Jazz Band, playing the alto sax. Michael was a section leader in the Marching Band and received a leadership award this year from the Band Director, Rick Dasher. He stated that he has learned quite a lot about being a leader from both the Marching Band and Boy Scouts.
Michael told Hernando Sun that he plans to continue with the Boy Scout organization through Order of the Arrow, the honor society of the Boy Scouts. He also would eventually like to be a Troop Leader. Michael will be attending PHSC for two years, then plans to attend Florida Polytechnic in Lakeland to study Computer Engineering.
Hernando Sun thanks Michael Harrison for his service to our community and wishes him well in future endeavors.
