Jordan LeGard, 16, has been in Scouting since he was in first grade. He said he has always tried to do the right thing in Boy Scouts and does his best to do his duty to God and his country and help other people at all times.
It paid off.
At 15, the Flower Mound Marcus High School sophomore became the youngest person in his troop to earn the Eagle Scout rank, the highest designation a Scout can receive. Scoutmasters believe he is the youngest person ever to earn the Eagle in Troop 280. Since 1912, 2.25 million scouts have earned the Eagle, according to the Boy Scouts of America Annual Report.
“What’s unique to Jordan is that many times, when a boy becomes an Eagle, they’re headed out the exit door. They’re done with Scouting,” Troop 280 Scoutmaster Jerry Simmons said. “What Jordan has done is stay very active in the troop, especially through Order of the Arrow. It’s very rare to have an Eagle as a senior patrol leader, so that really reveals about his character. That’s the most important part, to give back and help others throughout life and that’s a big endorsement for him.”
Simmons said most of his Scouts are 16 and 17 when they wrap up their Eagle.
Boys join the Boy Scouts of America when they are 11. Scouting is a multi-step process that moves from Tenderfoot to Eagle. As he progressed through the ranks, Jordan completed merit- and service-related requirements that allowed him to become an efficient camper and move him into leadership roles within his troop. He also has to complete specialized studies through merit badges.
There are 134 merit badges available; Scouts must earn 21 different merit badges, of which 13 are specifically required, to qualify for Eagle Scout.
According to BSA’s 2013 annual report, there are 1,417,034 boys ages 6 to 10 in Cub Scouting and 888,947 boys ages 11 to 17 in Boy Scouting and Varsity Scouting. Nationally, nearly half of local councils increased the percentage of Boy Scouts and Varsity Scouts earning rank advancements over 2012.
Jordan said his grandmother was his primary motivation to receive Eagle, but he acknowledged that he could not have done it without role models in his troop.
“When I first moved into Boy Scouts, my troop guide and friend, Oliver Davidson, did an excellent job,” LeGard said. “He did everything he needed to, and it made me very motivated to stay in Scouts and rank up. He had a vision. He had a goal to do everything he could to become an Eagle Scout.”
Jordan’s parents wanted him and his twin brother, Logan, to be self-motivated Scouts and succeed without too much help from them. His parents never doubted he would earn Eagle, he said, and they were happy when he got the award. Logan is now working to earn his Eagle.
“Logan and I saw that we were different from every other scout in that we had self-motivation,” Jordan said. “I wanted to be the first one that independently got Eagle.”
In order to receive Eagle, a Scout plans, develops and leads a service project helpful to the community. One of the primary purposes of the Eagle Scout service project is to demonstrate leadership ability and project management.
“The biggest thing I’ve learned about myself through Scouting is that I’m not an aggressive leader; I’m more of a passive leader and lead by example or help people by my example,” Jordan said.
Jordan completed his Eagle Scout project at 14. Because of scheduling conflicts, he could not schedule the final requirement, a board of review, until he was 15.
Jordan started his project in March 2012 and completed it June 28 of that same year. He talked to the principal of Briarhill Middle School, the school he attended at the time, who suggested a lost and found structure for the school.
From March to June, Jordan wrote a thorough proposal discussing fundraising, materials, potential strengths and weaknesses and the importance of the project. The proposal had to be approved by his scoutmaster and the district Eagle Scout coordinator and advancements chair. To pay for the project, LeGard held a car wash at Chick-Fil-A.
After building the structure, Jordan had to write a report about the process and evaluate his performance. He said one of the problems was some of the Scouts were younger, and he learned it was hard to control 11-year-olds, especially when it comes to paint.
“It motivates other people to serve the community because I had to have other Scouts volunteer to help build the wooden structure and participate in the car wash,” Jordan said.
Jordan’s Troop 280 is part of Topsanah District, Longhorn Council. It meets every Thursday night at Trietsch Memorial United Methodist Church in Flower Mound but is chartered through the Highland Village Lions Club. The troop is about to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
In fifth grade, some Cub Scouts commit to a Boy Scout troop in a process that ends with a ceremony called the Arrow of Light. Jordan said that his patrol elected him its first patrol leader. The patrol leader plans and leads patrol meetings and activities, assigns specific duties to patrol members, attend patrol leaders’ council meetings and works with other troop leaders to make the troop run well. He served as patrol leader for two years.
Jordan said his patrol started with 11 members and is down to two after the rest left Scouting or moved.
“Many of those people were pretty cool people that I only saw at Scouts. That was the only way I knew them and, since then, I haven’t really talked to them,” he said. “We’ve lost contact. It’s kind of sad, but they chose a different path.”
On the path to earning his Eagle, Jordan held about every job in a Boy Scout troop. He earned his Eagle and later became senior patrol leader. Now, he serves as senior patrol leaders and the troop’s Order of the Arrow representative.
The Order of the Arrow, according to its website, is a service organization and the national honor society for Boy Scouts. The site says members are elected and recognized as those who best live the ideals of brotherhood, cheerfulness and service. Jordan went on a 14-day trek at the Philmont high-adventure base in New Mexico.
“For Philmont, I sold my Xbox 360 and all my consoles and used that money to pay for it,” he said. “I raised $300, and my parents paid the rest.”
Jordan said he will attend the 2015 National Order of the Arrow Conference in Michigan, an event held for order members every four years. Next year is the 100th anniversary of the Order of the Arrow.
Over the summer, Jordan said he mowed yards to pay for NOAC.
“I’ve paid every penny for NOAC. That’s what my parents said, and that’s what I’ve done.”
Lewisville/Flower Mound editor Adam Schrader can be reached at 214-773-8188.
On Twitter: @Lewisville_FM
