Casey Whalen of Royal Palm Beach received his Eagle Scout award at a Court of Honor on Feb. 16 conducted at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center.
Friends, family, village officials, representatives of the Boy Scouts of America Gulf Stream Council and troop leaders attended the celebration, including his parents, Kim and Steve Whalen.
David Pantone, who was Whalen’s scoutmaster for the past seven years, presented him his award. Whalen honored his grandfather, Robert E. James, who earned his Eagle Scout rank in 1955, with a special pin.
Casey, 17, a senior at Palm Beach Gardens High School, is a member of Troop 111, chartered by Caribbean-Americans for Community Involvement (CAFCI) of Royal Palm Beach.
He has held several leadership positions within the troop and the Order of the Arrow, and is part of the OA ceremonies team. Whalen has also worked at Tanah Keeta, the Boy Scout camp in Tequesta.
In order to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout, Casey had to earn 21 merit badges and show leadership by planning, developing and completing a community service project. For his project, Casey decided to give back to his elementary school, H.L. Johnson, by building six garden beds complete with irrigation systems, wooden benches capped with flowerpots and an 8-foot picnic table with benches for the students and teachers to enjoy.
The rank of Eagle Scout is earned by less than four percent of all youth who join Boy Scouts of America. Troop 111, provides all new Eagle Scouts with a five-year membership in the National Eagle Scout Association in honor of their accomplishments.
ABOVE: Eagle Scout Casey Whalen
