By Staff
NILES – Becoming an Eagle Scout is an honor which a recent Niles High School graduate is about to achieve.
David Ralston, 18, of Boy Scout Troop No. 055 of Huntly Baptist Church, will be honored at a special Court of Honor Sunday, July 27.
The public is invited to share this moment with David and his parents, John and Cheryl Ralston, at 2 p.m. in the Saint Mary's Catholic Church Parish Center in Niles.
Joining scouting at age 6 as a Tiger Cub, David went on to earn Cub Scouting's highest honor, the Arrow of Light. Continuing as a Boy Scout, he earned 23 merit badges, served his troop as a patrol leader, assistant patrol leader, guide and assistant senior patrol leader. He has also done many hours of community service, including volunteering many hours at the Niles Haunted House.
For his Eagle community service project, David led six adults and six youth in the installation of approximately 900 linear feet of rail fence around a new equestrian parking area at Russ Forest County Park in Cass County. The project took nearly 150 man hours over three days, during the fall of 2007.
As a Boy Scout, Ralston hiked the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, Isle Royale off the U.P. of Michigan and Philmont Scout Ranch near Cimarron, N.M. and canoed the boundary waters at Northern Tier in Minnesota.
He will attend Southwestern Michigan College this fall to study automotive service technology and management.