Eagle Court of Honor-Rylan

We had Rylan's Eagle Court of Honor on a Sunday afternoon with his friend Jonah Shirts. Scott and Brother Shirts wrote a script and we had Brother McMurtrey the YM president conduct.

Mateo Lewis

Sis Chadwick

Max Beltran

We weren’t sure how many people would share comments about Rylan because he didn’t grow up in this ward like Jonah had, so we printed some comments from past leaders and teachers for who was conducting to read, here is what he read:

1) Rylan is an honest and hardworking young man. He is humble, a little bit shy, and self-motivated person that other scouts look up to and is a good role model for the younger scouts. I wish more young men were like him.

2) As a coach and a teacher I look for individuals that work extremely hard while having a smile on their face when times get difficult. Rylan regularly demonstrates this trait. Rylan is one of the most helpful students in my class and volunteers his time to help his peers and is always courteous and kind while doing it. He is a perfect example of an athlete and student and is an amazing young man to be around.

3) I have had the pleasure of watching Rylan mature into the young man he is today. He is faithful in his religious duties, attentive and helpful during weekly services, and respects the beliefs of others. Rylan’s reverence for our Lord and Savior makes him a fine example for anyone seeking a closer relationship to God, and a valued member of the community.

4) When Rylan first joined our Deacon’s Quorum it was evident that he was very mature for his age. Rylan embraced his calling as the quorum president and was integral in guiding his fellow deacons in planning many activities such as mutual events, temple visits, youth firesides, and scouting campouts. Rylan is very driven and is an example of what it is to live the Scout Oath and Law. Never once did I have to question Rylan on his word or integrity. Rylan also has a funny side that seemed to come out during campouts. He was the one who would bring the googly-eyed glasses and keep all the other boys laughing while burning whatever pancakes or eggs we were going to have for breakfast. But even when he was in his playful side, if there was a task that needed to be done, you would only have to ask Rylan once.

5) Rylan may best be described as a resilient and silent professional. He likes to think about things before forming an opinion or rushing into action. His patience and caring for others will serve him well throughout his life. As a military kid he has shown the ability to adapt to each new environment and maintain a positive attitude and outlook on life.

Then they opened it up for people in attendance to share their comments/stories and here is a recount of what was said about Rylan:

Bro McMurtrey (YM Pres) shared a story about how when Rylan first moved here they went on a canoe camping trip and the boy who Rylan was assigned to share a tent with didn’t bring the poles or stakes that go with the tent (this boy was there and they all made a jab at him and it was funny) so the other boys who were supposed to be in that tent quickly found a place to squeeze in with other tents, but it was a tight fit but Rylan said he would be fine and would make himself a shelter and sleep outside. The YM pres felt terrible and thought this new kid is never coming back to church again, but he was impressed that he had the skills to make himself a shelter, and also that Rylan never complained when under less than ideal circumstances.

Sis Chadwick (seminary teacher) shared how Rylan is very helpful, respectful and kind in seminary, so kind that when they were having a march madness competition of who could do the best devotional and it came time to vote that Rylan didn’t want to vote because he didn’t want to make anyone feel bad and that he kept saying that the devotionals were all good. He and Jonah also leave stilly little notes & things in her daughter’s car (who drives them to school every day) just to tease her.

Micah Shirts (Jonah’s dad) he used to be Rylan’s quorum advisor, and he shared a story when they were working on their cooking merit badge and doing a couple different iron chef competitions and Rylan was not winning, but he had a good attitude and joked that if it was a cookie making competition that he would do a lot better. Then about two days later, Rylan came to Micah’s door with a plate of the best-tasting cookies he had ever had!

Max Beltran- he was the scout that forgot the tent poles! He earned his Eagle about a year ago, and he is the same age as Rylan and Jonah but a year older in school. He shared how much he looked up to Rylan and Jonah for the outstanding examples they were at church, seminary and in academics.

Scott wasn’t planning on getting up but he felt like he needed to share how much he loved being Jonah and Rylan’s teachers quorum advisor until the church made the age change and they got ripped from him too soon. He appreciated their maturity level and how they lead their quorum to do good things. And he genuinely thought of them as friends and he never had to raise his voice or correct their behavior during a lesson or activity, they were always choosing the right and leading others to do the same.

Next Jonah received his Eagle award:

and he gave Scott a mentor pin.

Then it was Rylan's turn. Rylan asked that Bishop Shoaf do the scout oath for him, and as a family we went up and exchanged his kerchief and pinned on his eagle award, then he presented our parent pins and gave us each a hug. We showed his video and I think everyone was awed at what scouts is like in Hawaii! The Bishop presented them each a ward gift, a nice engraved eagle statue with an American Flag, with the date he earned his Eagle award. We had cookie cake and that was it! The whole court of honor lasted more than we liked, but really it was because so many people came up and had good things to say about our boys, we kept the videos down to 5 minutes each and each boy only talked for about 5-8 minutes. Jonah awarded Scott a mentor pin and Rylan did as well, so that was neat to have Scott recognized for this hard work with the boys. Rylan’s other two mentor pins went to two leaders in Hawaii, Bro Hijirida and Bro Clay.

When it was Rylan's turn to speak he went off script a bit and shared some scout memories over the years, he gave a mentor pin to Scott because he has always been both a parent and exceptional leader in his scouting experience even when it wasn't his church calling. For a shy kid, he did pretty good.

While I was serving cookie cake ( two huge cookies with frosting in the middle and on top) our Stake President ( who is also in our ward and the seminary teacher’s husband) came up to me and gave me a side hug and said that Rylan seems to him to be a meek and mild man and in the scriptures those characteristics are always brought up to be great in the sight of God, and that I had done a good job raising him. I almost started crying but I held back and said thank you and changed the subject to how much I enjoyed Stake Conference. It was a great night, we felt very loved and I’m happy that we could honor Rylan.