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Photos: Emerson Scout, 14, Troop's Youngest To Achieve Eagle Rank

EMERSON, N.J. — State officials and Emerson residents alike gathered in Emerson junior/senior high school for a special Court of Honor ceremony on behalf of Troop 67's youngest member to become an eagle scout Sunday.

Josh Salles, 14, speaks at his Court of Honor ceremony Sunday.

Josh Salles, 14, speaks at his Court of Honor ceremony Sunday.

Photo Credit: Kim Salles
Emerson's Josh Salles, 14, with Franklin Praschil, 15.

Emerson's Josh Salles, 14, with Franklin Praschil, 15.

Photo Credit: Millie Hoxha
Emerson Troop 67.

Emerson Troop 67.

Photo Credit: Kim Salles
From left: Josh Salles, Brian Salles, Kim Salles and Jake Salles.

From left: Josh Salles, Brian Salles, Kim Salles and Jake Salles.

Photo Credit: Kim Salles

Josh Salles, 14, renovated the multipurpose room of Wyckoff's Eastern Christian Children's Retreat — a residential facility for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The scout began his project last summer and completed it in December.

"It wasn't a question of where he wanted to do [his project], just a question of what he wanted to do," said Kim Salles, the scout's mother.

Salles has been volunteering at the retreat — where his mother works — since he was a child. At 10 years old, he began working closely with the residents.

During Sunday's ceremony, Josh's father, Brian Salles, presented Josh and his brother, Jake, 17 — also an eagle scout — with a 1973 Eisenhower Dollar. The coin depicts an eagle landing on the moon.

"It's for them to keep in their pocket," Kim Salles explained. "If they're having a rough day or feel defeated they can hold the dollar and remember they can do anything they set their minds to."

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