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The ADVANCE, March 8, 2023/Page 2A
THE EAGLE AMONG THEM - Scout Adam Copeland completed his journey through the Boy Scouts of America pro
gram as he officially rose to the rank of Eagle Scout at a ceremony on Saturday, March 4. Here, he is pictured with
his fellow scouts and scouting associates. L to R, Front Row: Susie Curtis, Isaiah Gillis, Alex Morgan, Tyson Spell, Adam
Copeland, Modesto Quintana, Tanner Holcomb, Vicartis Vaughn, L to R, Back Row: Ryan Barnes, Zachery Douglas,
Keegan Spell, Xavier Douglas, Leon Douglas, Brett Copeland, Lee Stephens, Jesse Stephens, Ken Whitson, Russell
Schmidt, Steve Tomlin.
RARE HONOR - Troop Committee Chairman Ken Whit
son emphasized that achieving the Eagle Scout rank
is a rare accomplishment, as many leave the Scouting
program or reach age 18 before completing the task.
Here, Copeland stands as Whitson explains his duties as
Eagle Scout,
Eagle
continued from page 1A
it in the shape of a tent,”
he explained. “He told us
to put it (the flyer tent) in
the refrigerator beside the
milk, so that’s what I did.”
Copeland’s mother
found the flyer tent during
a visit to the fridge, and the
rest is history - he signed
up for Cub Scouts that
next night, and has been a
member of Scouting ever
since.
“From hiking to cam-
pouts all over the place, to
summer camps, full of fun
and learning; from canoe
ing to kayaking, to climb
ing and rappelling; from
learning to kneeboard and
finally grasping the con
cept of wakeboarding, to
whitewater raffing 5 rivers
in just 5 days - adventure
is simply an understate
ment,” Copeland empha
sized. “I have met lifelong
friends and have had the
privilege of learning from
several great role models
in my troop and council.”
During the ceremony,
Copeland not only took
the famous Eagle Oath and
changed his green neck
scarf to the famous royal
blue scarf, but also pre
sented pins to his parents
and a special mentor. His
mother, Lori, received a
pin for her dedication to
ensuring that Copeland
Fuel
continued from page 1A
two years and that are pro
jected to occur during the
next two years.
If approved, the pro
posal would add $17 to
$23 to the monthly bill of
the average Georgia Power
customer who uses 1,000
kilowatt-hours of power
each month.
“Just as Georgians
paid higher prices at the
gas pump in 2022, Georgia
Power also paid more for
the natural gas (on average
three times more) and oth
er fuels we used to generate
electricity,” Georgia Power
spokesman Jacob Hawkins
said Tuesday.
“These increases are
solely a result of rising en-
made it to Scouting events
and had all that he needed.
His father, Brett, also re
ceived a pin for his dedica
tion to his son’s journey as
a Scout.
When discussing who
would be presented with
his Eagle Scout Mentor
Pin, Copeland gave thanks
to several people who had
influenced his life. “This
is harder than you would
think; I started thinking
about all the people who
had been great mentors to
me. The list was so long, so
I want to thank a few peo
ple today,” he explained.
“First and foremost,
I’d like to thank my par
ents. I made my Mom a
promise when I started
Scouting that I would fin
ish [the program}. This
was a rule my parents had
for anything I wanted to
ergy prices - and Georgia
Power earns zero profit
from these fuel costs.”
Georgia Power execu
tives first announced the
company would be seek
ing fuel costs recovery this
month last year during tes
timony before the PSC at
hearings on Georgia Pow
er’s 2022 rate hike request.
The commission ap
proved a $1.8 billion rate
increase for the utility in
December, which raised
the average residential cus
tomer’s monthly bill by
$3.60. The rate hike took
effect last month.
Georgia Power’s final
requested amount and ap
proximate bill impacts,
which will reflect more
recent fuel prices, will be
provided in April.
participate in, but this one
was hard to keep,” Co
peland remarked. “They
have pushed me to be who
I am now. Not only has it
been an adventure for me,
but my family has grown
through Scouting. They
have both been very ac
tive in Scouting this whole
time. Thank you, Mom and
Dad, for everything.”
He continued with
thanks. “Mr. Todd Corley
is audio/video/film class
teacher and e-sports coach
at Toombs County High
School. I have been in one
of his classes ever since
sophomore year. Mr. Cor
ley has led me to become
a better person by helping
me become a better sport
after losing a tough match,
and by introducing me to
the world of film. I thank
you for being a great role
model, and for being the
best coach that a gamer
could ask for.”
Copeland then shared
his gratitude for his high
school science teacher,
Dana Manning. “To those
of you who don’t already
know, I don’t do so well
with blood or anything
that comes out of your
body. Mrs. Manning was
my chemistry teacher and
my human anatomy and
physiology teacher. I was
skeptical at first, but af
ter dissecting a cow’s eye,
I thought I could finally
handle anything that came
my way — until she told us
we had to dissect a piglet.
After that day, my fear had
been washed away — after
I washed my hands. Thank
you, Mrs. Manning, for
teaching me how to con
quer my fears.”
He then thanked
those who had impacted
him most during Scout
ing, beginning with former
Scoutmaster Lee Stephens.
“Mr. Lee was my Scout
master when I first joined
the troop. I remember sit
ting down with him while
on my first Scoutmaster
conference, and I’m not
going to lie, I was pretty
nervous. He asked me
this question: ‘What are
some things you want to
do in Scouting?’ I named
some things like kayaking,
camping, etc. Right then,
he also challenged me to
finish my Scouting adven
ture, of course, by becom
ing an Eagle Scout. Thank
you, Mr. Lee, for challeng
ing me.”
“This [thank you] is
not [to] a person, but an
organization: the Kiwanis
Club ofVidalia,” Coleman
said, adding, “This organi
zation has been the char
ter organization for both
Cub Scout Pack and Boy
Scout Troop 933 for many,
many years. In 2019, we
all celebrated 100 years of
Troop 933, and Kiwanis
is the reason this troop is
still around. I don’t know
how many 100-year-old
troops are still around, but
I’m sure there’s not many.
We have one here in Vi-
dalia, Georgia, because of
the Kiwanis organization.
Thank you to all members
for supporting us.”
Coleman ended with
the formal presentation of
the Eagle Scout Mentor
Pin to Troop Committee
Chairman Ken Whitson.
“Mr. Ken has taught me
lots of things, like plant
identification,” Copeland
said. He told about one
of their encounters with
plant identification, in
which Copeland brought
a three-leafed plant to
Whitson during one of his
first camping trips with
the troop. Copeland asked
Whitson what the plant
could be, and Whitson had
a simple reply: “That there
boy is poison ivy.”
Copeland related the
memories and lessons
which he had shared with
Whitson. “Mr. Ken has
pushed me to become a
leader, and I am not going
to he, he intimidated me
at first,” he commented.
“I thought I knew how to
swim, but he taught me
to swim better. He got me
through the hard merit
badges that I struggled to
get through myself. Mr.
Ken is the most dedicated
person I know when it
comes to Scouting - he
has dedicated his life to the
Boy Scouts.”
“I was asked at a Na
tional Youth Leadership
Training that I attended,
‘Who do you think lives
the Scout Oath the most?’
My answer exactly was,
‘Hands down, Mr. Ken.’
He’s pushed me hard, es
pecially the closer I got to
becoming an Eagle. He is
the one person, other than
my parents, that has men
tored me the most,” Cope
land added.
Eagle Scout Project
To become an Eagle
Scout, Copeland had to
complete an Eagle Scout
project, which has to be
helpful to the community.
For his Eagle Scout proj
ect, Copeland chose to
renovate the walking track
at the Ed Smith Complex
in Vidalia.
The current Troop 933
Scout Hut is located at the
complex; thus, Copeland
has witnessed firsthand
the wear and tear that has
been placed on the park’s
pavement. As part of his
project, Copeland worked
to improve the track - lay
ing asphalt in two corners
of the path, moving dirt
and leveling the track, and
seal coating as much of the
asphalt as possible. He also
pressure washed the pave
ment, renovated benches,
and overall, improved the
area for all who utilize the
complex.
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