By Grace Allen

Four Boy Scouts from Norfolk Troop 80 were honored last month for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest award in the Boy Scout program.

On Friday, May 13, Kevin O’Neill, Alexander Stock, Sam Tobar-Fawley, and Samuel Thomas Woodward were recognized at the Eagle Court of Honor ceremony held at the Norfolk Grange. The ceremony was attended by family, friends, and local dignitaries, including State Senator Becca Rausch, State Rep. Shawn Dooley, and Norfolk Select Board member Kevin Kalkut.

The Scouts were presented with citations honoring their achievements from the Massachusetts House of Representatives. The Norfolk Select Board also recognized the boys’ accomplishments by presenting them with town proclamations that announced special days of recognition for each Scout.

 Norfolk Troop 80 has been active in town for many years. Troop 80 had a float in the town’s 100th anniversary parade, held in 1970.

 (Photo courtesy of Troop 80/Adam Cambria)

As they rose through the ranks of Scouting, each boy earned numerous merit badges, performed hours of community service, completed an individual Eagle Scout project, and passed an Eagle Scout Board of Review. Eagle Scout projects must be developed, planned and led by a Scout, and benefit a religious, school, or community organization. Scouts are responsible for fundraising or obtaining material donations for their project. Nationally, only about 5% of Boy Scouts achieve the coveted Eagle rank.

Norfolk’s Troop 80 has been active in town for many years, and has a long and proud tradition of producing Eagle Scouts. According to Scoutmaster Adam Cambria, the Troop is structured so that the Scouts have every opportunity to fulfill the many requirements needed to achieve the rank of Eagle. 

“I inherited a very well-run and well-organized Troop,” explained Cambria. “Our community is filled with Troop 80 Eagle projects, and by the way, we have a lot of fun too.”

Here are the community service projects completed by Norfolk’s newest Eagle Scouts. Be sure to check them out when you’re out and about the area:

Kevin Ryan O’Neill

Kevin O’Neill, a junior at King Philip High School, led the effort to install a flagpole and surrounding garden at Gilly’s House, a residential program in Wrentham for young men in recovery from addiction. The circular garden, with its granite cobblestone perimeter and walkway to raise and lower the flag, was landscaped with mulch and purple flowers. Purple is the official color of the recovery movement. In 2018, Kevin’s older brother Brandon refurbished the garage at Gilly’s House for his Eagle Scout project, and the family remains involved with Gilly’s by providing meals and collecting needed items for the residents. Kevin is the son of Kristina and Doug O’Neill. 

Alexander Stock

Gilly’s House was also the lucky recipient of another Scout’s Eagle project. Alex Stock rebuilt and refreshed the front landscaping at Gilly’s after the home’s foundation plantings were removed during the structure’s repainting in 2020. Alex, a junior at King Philip High School, planted new bushes and mulched the plantings around the foundation. He also replaced the front porch’s wooden lattice with more durable, maintenance-free plastic lattice. Alex, the son of Christina and Fred Stock, has continued his volunteer work with Gilly’s House even after his project was completed. At the holidays, Alex delivered wreaths to decorate the front of the building, and more recently, he and his brother collected and donated sweatshirts for the residents.

Sam Tobar-Fawley

For his Eagle Scout project, Sam Tobar-Fawley planned and constructed a tiered garden at the rear of the Federated Church of Norfolk. Sam, a senior at King Philip High School, worked with church members and other Scouts to design and build the 25’ x 4’ wide beds, made of pavers and wood. The project ran into a roadblock when buried tree trunks were discovered on the site, but with the help of Troop 80 adults, the tree trunks were removed and the project continued. After the beds were completed, Troop 80 Scouts helped Sam filled in the beds with donated mulch, courtesy of Norfolk’s DPW. Sam, the son of Margaret Fawley and Avaro Tobar, will attend DePaul University in the fall.

Samuel Woodward

Under the guidance of the Norfolk Conservation Commission, Sam Woodward built a new, 1/3-mile trail in the Campbell Forest for his Eagle Scout project. The trail connects to the existing loop trail and also provides another entrance point into the town forest. Sam, with the help of other Troop 80 Scouts, also built three bridges along the new trail to carry walkers across the swampy and wet areas, and a three-step, natural staircase into a hillside. A senior at King Philip High School, Sam made and sold submarine sandwiches to help raise funds for the lumber used in the project. The new trail was completed in the spring of 2020, just when the demand for safe, socially-distanced outdoor recreation areas started to spike. The son of Emily and Tom Woodward, Sam will be matriculating at Miami Uni