Eagle Scout Ryan Pearlman A True Trailblazer

By Shannon Hicks

Ryan Pearlman became Newtown’s newest Eagle Scout on Saturday, May 21. Ryan was joined by family, friends, and dozens of invited guests and Scouts during a Court of Honor at Newtown United Methodist Church.

Ryan, 18, is the son of Kim and Alan Pearlman. He is a member of Boy Scout Troop 270, which is based at NUMC in Sandy Hook, and is led by Scoutmaster Jeff Price.

Achieving Eagle Scout status is something Ryan says he knew he wanted to achieve for the past few years.

“My parents put me into scouting when I was 5 or 6. That’s when I began Cub Scouts,” he said. “I went through all the ranks, and by the time I was 13 or 14 I had decided that becoming an Eagle Scout was something I was going to do. It’s prestigious, it’s something that will help me later in life.

“As I kept going through scouting, this was just something I found I was working toward,” he said.

Scouts looking to achieve the rank of Eagle have a number of requirements to fulfill before they move from the rank of Life Scout and begin considering the process of becoming an Eagle Scout. They need to be active with their troop, demonstrate they can live by the organization’s Scout Oath and Law in their everyday lives, and earn 21 merit badges (12 of which are specifically required), among other important steps.

The most familiar step in the path to becoming an Eagle Scout is the Eagle Service Project.

These projects should be about service to others. Scouts are encouraged to do something that will benefit an organization other than Boy Scouts. Projects must demonstrate a young man’s ability to lead, plan, delegate, and prepare for the unexpected. There is no minimum nor maximum time, and projects do not need to involve money or construction.

Projects must also be unique to each scout (scouts cannot jointly work on a project, in other words).

Ryan’s Eagle Scout Project was the blazing of a 1,500-foot-long trail that runs from Yogananda Street to Bennett’s Bridge, and leads into town property off Bennett’s Bridge Road in Sandy Hook. The trail starts on an easement next to 25 Yogananda, and includes a 15-foot bridge that spans a small stream. There is also a crossing over an old stone wall, complete with roping to help hikers cross over the wall with ease.

Newtown Deputy Land Use Director Rob Sibley was able to help Ryan decide on his Eagle Scout Project.

“Ryan spoke to me about doing his project and I invited him in the office to consider some projects. We looked at many projects, but ended up with the trail project for the community impact and its realistic goal,” said Mr Sibley, who suggested the trail in Sandy Hook due to its proximity to Ryan’s home.

“People who walk in that area discovered the trail pretty quickly,” said Ryan. “Even when we were building the trail, people would walk by and see what we were doing. They seem to enjoy what we did.”

The trail was blazed late last summer, after Ryan graduated from Newtown High School with the Class of 2010 and just before he departed for his freshman year at UMass-Amherst. About 35 people — friends, family, fellow scouts, and the scoutmaster and assistant scoutmasters of Troop 270 — all volunteered their time to help Ryan with his project. Mr Sibley had arranged for surveyors to mark the site’s boundaries, which allowed Ryan to continue his project without fear of infringing on private property lines.

“Blazing the actual trail was bigger than I imagined,” said Ryan. “About two-thirds of the area was complete forest. There were also a lot of big rocks that had to be cleared out, and then the holes they created [when the rocks were removed] had to be filled back in.

“The bridge actually went easier than I expected,” he said. “We finished that in one day.”

Building the bridge, which included 6 by 6 posts, rebar and planking, went smoothly thanks in large part to Ryan’s well-conceived plan. Gravel leads up to either side of the span, and a clear idea of what the bridge would look like upon completion that allowed his team to work quickly and easily. It was the trail work itself that was tougher for the scout.

While many Eagle Scout Projects take between 150 to 200 manpower hours, Ryan’s accounted for 355.5 hours.

“That includes everything,” he said, “from the write-ups and meetings, collecting supplies, and accounting for everyone’s manpower.”

Eagle Scout Projects, Mr Sibley said, are ultimately “about leadership in training. Ryan showed enthusiasm and attention to detail for the project at the beginning, and it did not diminish, even when there were difficulties. This is one of the marks of a leader.”

Ryan’s 18th birthday — the deadline by which all of his requirements needed to be met and submitted for a Scoutmaster Conference — was October 20. His trail dedication, one of the final things he did for his project, was on October 9, 2010.

“I cut it close,” he said with a laugh.

Last month’s Court of Honor included the Legend of the Rose, when his mother was presented with roses; the presentation of Mentor Pins to Jeff Price, Assistant Scoutmaster Bill Watts, and Rob Sibley; Grandparent Pins to his grandparents, Estelle Pearlman and Sue and Ed Biendkap; and The Trail of the Eagle, where scouts did readings describing the seven different ranks Ryan went through on his way to becoming an Eagle.

“I was very happy with how it came out,” said the Eagle Scout.