For the Reid family, becoming an Eagle Scout has become a family tradition.
Andrew Reid, 17, of Elmwood Park was officially recognized at the April 20 Elmwood Park Village Board meeting for achieving the status of Eagle Scout. He’s a member of Boy Scout Troop 22 in the village and the second in his family to achieve the rank. His older brother, Phillip, became an Eagle Scout in 2007.
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But it was Andrew Reid’s time to shine at the board meeting.
“My heart was beating and I was nervous,” he said. “I did a good thing for the people, but I was shocked and amazed because I didn’t expect to get this kind of recognition from the village.”
To achieve the rank of Eagle Scout, Reid had to coordinate a service project from start to finish. Reid didn’t know what he wanted to do, but he asked around at the River Park Moose Lodge in River Grove, where they have some of their troop meetings.
The lodge was in the process of paying to create handicapped parking spaces in their parking lot, but Reid said he could do it. He created seven handicap parking spaces on the property, one that was large enough for a van and two regular handicapped parking spots a few feet from the lodge’s entrance. The rest were designated in the general parking lot area.
“We spray-painted the lines, bought the signs,” he said. “All together, it took three days. We had perfect weather for it.”
He received help from family, friends and his fellow scouts to do the project.
Duane Becker, committee chair and assistant scoutmaster for Troop 22, said Reid worked hard to achieve the goal.
“He proceeded where others would quit,” he said. “He stuck with it and finally accomplished his goal in life and that was to become an Eagle Scout.”
Becker has seen Reid grow up in the troop and what he has done says a lot about his character.
“To accomplish that eagle rank you have your act together,” he said. “It was great project and saved the Moose Lodge a lot of money. It was hard work for him.”
His mother, Brenda, said Andrew Reid has always followed in his brother’s footsteps and always wanted to be an Eagle Scout. She said she’s proud of her younger son’s accomplishment.
“Andrew has always looked up to his older brother,” she said. “It’s one of the main reasons he did it. Andrew has been in scouting because of his brother.”
But for her son, being a Boy Scout has helped him grow into a man.
“For him, it made him more responsible,” he said. “Not having a father, some of the scout leaders were father figures to him. Scouting has made him into a leader.”
Andrew Reid said he plans to go culinary school to become a pastry chef and he plans to make scouting a lifelong endeavor.
“I’m going to go forward with scouting and become an assistant scout leader later on in life,” he said.
His official Eagle Scout ceremony is scheduled to take place May 3.