Five local teens earn Eagle Scout ranking with community-service projects

Five Tiburon teens achieved the highest rank within Scouts BSA in 2021 after completing community-leadership projects that ranged from contributing to a fly-fishing program for veterans to refurbishing a church playground to helping protect sensitive habitat trails.

Paul Arce, William Hibbard and Jason Stinnet of Tiburon Troop 48, Ryan Barcy of Venturing Crew 415 out of Tiburon and Bella Segovia of Troop 1015, based in San Anselmo, are now Eagle Scouts. The young adults — who are all 18 — join the more than 2.25 million scouts who have earned the rank since 1912. That list includes astronaut Neil Armstrong, entrepreneur Sam Walton, director Steven Spielberg and former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

Earning the Eagle Scout ranking — the highest of seven ranks within the program — can be tough. Scouts must earn 21 merit badges in areas like first aid, environment and business, serve six months in a position of responsibility within their troop and complete a community-service project to benefit a nonprofit group. It’s a prestigious honor; in any given year, just 4-8 percent of scouts earn the ranking, which must be achieved before the scout turns 18.

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