Two Lewisboro Teens Reach Eagle Scout Status

LEWISBORO, N.Y. – For every 100 boys who join scouting, only four actually become Eagle Scouts. This past weekend, Lewisboro Boy Scout Troop 1 saw two of its member achieve that lofty goal.

Timothy Konetchy and Matthew Waldman were sworn in as Eagle Scouts in the Eagle Scout Court of Honor during a ceremony held Sunday, Jan. 8, at the South Salem Presbyterian Church.

Konetchy began his scouting career as a Tiger Cub.

“I barely recall anything [from the time] to be perfectly honest, but what I do remember caused me to continue scouting,” he said. “I remember camping at Clear Lake. I remember eating meatballs and spaghetti in the cabins, then I remember going outside and climbing a rock face that I thought was hundreds of feet high, but was probably little more than 10 feet.”

Konetchy began work on his Eagle project on Aug. 24, 2010 with Assistant Scoutmaster Mike Harris.

“He helped me find a project that would help St. Paul’s church and fulfill the Eagle requirements,” he said. “I took me a few tries to get my project approved, but once I was going it was full steam ahead.”

Konetchy helped clear trails and build bridges along St. Francis Trail.

“We got through painting the trails once, clearing St. Francis Trail and building the bridges, but winter came early and I lost three workdays and to continue on into the spring,” he said. “It was not fun waiting and watching all my work covered in snow and I could do nothing about it – but that’s life. When the snow cleared we finished it by placing the bridges. We added a final coat of paint and got all the paperwork in and finally I was an Eagle over a year after I started working on the project.

Waldman joined the Cub Scouts in second grade as a Wolf Cub.

“I remember pushing through my first hike with a full backpack, eager to prove myself to the older scouts,” he said.

Waldmas said his love of nature and the outdoors led him to choose the renovation of a wolf enclosure at the Wolf Conservation Center along with creating a community awareness program.

“It was exciting to watch the two Mexican grey wolves get released into the newly renovated enclosure,” he said. “I created a slide show about the wolves and my project and went to the local elementary schools to present the program. My Eagle Scout project allowed me to be a leader, an organizer and a teacher. It was an incredibly rewarding experience.”

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