Honoring A New Eagle Scout

Daniel F. Maxwell, son of Tom and Nancy Maxwell, was welcomed to the rank of Eagle Scout at a Court of Honor held at Trinity Episcopal Church in November. More than 100 scouts, friends, and family members were in attendance.

A member of Boy Scout Troop 370 for the past seven years, Daniel has, at various times, held the positions of patrol leader (five times), troop guide, and troop instructor. He was also elected to the Order of the Arrow and earned a total of 29 merit badges on his march to Eagle. Since his Eagle Scout Board of Review on June 19, he has also earned the Bronze Palm, which is awarded at the completion of five additional merit badges beyond the Eagle along with continued troop leadership and activity.

In the summer of 1997, Daniel attended the National Boy Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia. Two summers ago, he participated in a high adventure canoe/backpacking trip at Camp Russell, New York. He attended Camp Yawgoog Boy Scout Camp in Rhode Island four times. This past July, he spent 15 days hiking on a 70-mile backpacking trip in the Sangre de Christo Mountains at the Philmont National Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. Four members of Daniel’s Philmont hiking crew came from all over Connecticut to attend his Eagle ceremony, along with adult leaders Allan Brown of Danbury and Arnold Marcus of orange.

Daniel’s Eagle Scout project was to clear trees and brush below the Memorial Garden on the property of Trinity Episcopal Church and directly across from The Newtown Bee on Church Hill Road. Daniel also led a team of scouts in planting 250 flowering bulbs on this property, thereby completing a total of 100 hours of community service.

Pastor Kathleen Adams-Shepherd gave the invocation and the closing benediction at the Court of Honor. Boy Scouts who took part in the ceremony were James Dellasala, James Kaechele, Andrew Lysaght, David Rod, Gregory Mayer, and Tim Duffy. Troop Committee Chairman Ed Rod acted a Master of Ceremonies.

Eagle Advisor Steve LaBianco read the “I am the Eagle” as well as Daniel’s Scout history. Scoutmasters Bill Timmel, Mike Duffy, and Jim Kaechele presented gifts from the troop and read citations. Daniel’s father and Scoutmaster Tom Maxwell gave the Eagle Presentation and Charge. Daniel is a fourth-generation Boy Scout spanning 70 years in his family. Both his father and his brother, Scots, are also Eagle Scouts.

Eagle Scout Conrad Renner, a family friend who flew in from Dallas, Texas, to attend the ceremony, presented Daniel with a flag, which was flown over our nation’s capitol in Daniel’s honor on his birthday last August. Congressman James Maloney had arranged for the presentation.

In recognition of Daniel’s achievement, various awards and citations were given to him. First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal, a friend of the family, attended the ceremony and personally presented Daniel with a congratulatory citation from the Town of Newtown. Letters of congratulations were also read from Newtown High School Principal William Manfredonia, Superintendent Dr John Reed, State Representative John Stripp, Governor John Rowland, Congressman James H. Maloney, Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Senator Joseph Lieberman, former Presidents Bush, Carter, Ford, Reagan, and the Clintons. State Representative Julia Wasserman arranged for a framed citation from the State of Connecticut to be presented. According to the letter from State Rep. John Stripp, “Only two in 100 who join Scouts make Eagle; that’s just 0.512 percent of the entire male population.”

A junior at Newtown High School, Daniel is a member of the French National Honor Society. He has made the honor roll every marking period since entering high school. He has played lacrosse for the past two years as well as freshman football. Daniel has earned a varsity letter in cross-country and helped to represent Newtown in the state cross-country finals in November. He has been elected a cross-country captain for next fall. He is also currently running indoor track.

A lifelong member of Trinity Church, Daniel has served as an acolyte during Sunday services for the past five years. He is an active member of the church Youth Fellowship Program. He has participated in a total of three group church work camps in West Virginia, Vermont, and New Hampshire, helping to rebuild homes in poverty stricken areas totaling more than 100 hours of community service.