Tommy Sylvester of The Forks was presented Scouting’s highest honor during a ceremony on Sunday, June 4, at the Forks Fish and Game Association.

“To reach this rank of Scouting, this young man has followed a trail in time and in experience which has been discouraging and inspiring, arduous work and great fun, slow and speedy, fair and stormy,” said Scoutmaster Karla Talpey of Jackman, who served as Master of Ceremonies, according to a news release from Chuck Mahaleris, district chairman for the Kennebec Valley District of Scouting. “From start to finish it has been a challenge, a challenge he has met successfully, and with honor. In meeting it, he has grown, not only in stature, but in character and maturity. When a boy becomes a Scout, he exposes himself to a tradition of honor, conduct, and unselfish service that colors and shapes his attitudes and behavior in his daily life. This is what we call the Spirit of Scouting.” Talpey explained that the Spirit of Scouting “embodies the principles of the Scout Oath and the Scout Law.”

Andrew McKendry, a teacher at Forest Hills Consolidated School, provided the keynote address remarking on Sylvester’s personal accomplishments and determination to overcome challenges. McKendry was Sylvester’s favorite teacher in school. He graduated from Forest Hills on Saturday (June 3) and in the fall plans to work towards a degree in conservation law at Central Maine Community College in hopes of becoming a game warden. He has wanted to become a warden since the age of 3. Game Warden Joel Wilkinson is a friend of the family. When he was stationed in the area, he would visit and Sylvester would climb around in his truck and show him everything in it. “Tommy fell in love with the idea of being a Game Warden,” said his mother Heather Sylvester. “He has wanted to be a warden ever since.”

Kevin Gurney of Rome gave the Eagle Scout Charge.

Sylvester is a member of the Volunteer Fire Department in The Forks and for his Eagle Scout Service project, he led a team to renovate a portion of the fire station into a meeting/training room. He had to solicit donations, recruit volunteers to help him do his work, write up and present his project idea and then complete the task. They leveled and painted the cement floor in the room, put up walls and ceiling, installed shelves and made the space more usable for the department. His project was made more difficult because COVID-19 hit and restrictions prevented them from having more than two people working on the space at any one time. In all, more than 630 hours of service were provided for the benefit of the community through his project and the fire department has a space appropriate for training and meetings.

“Not only am I Tommy’s mom, but I was also his Cubmaster. I’ve had the joy of watching him grow and learn from Tiger to Webelo in the Cub Scout Pack, earning his Arrow of Light, and then bridge into Scout Troop 497 in Jackman. As the mom of a Scout in the Troop I was able to help in various capacities. His Eagle Project was neat and dear to our hearts and after it was completed, brought incredible pride for everything he had overcome during it. My heart was overflowing with joy and my eyes overflowed with tears as that Eagle Scout neckerchief was placed around his neck. It was the symbolization of the culmination of the hard work Tommy put in not only during Boy Scouts, but also as a Cub Scout. I’m so incredibly proud of him!,” said Heather Sylvester.

 

 

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