David Talmage of Riverhead has earned the rank of Eagle Scout and was pinned at an Eagle Scout Court of Honor ceremony at the Baiting Hollow Congregational Church on Saturday, Jan. 7.
Talmage, 18, the son of Douglas and Lisa Talmage, became the fourth Eagle Scout in his extended family, following in the footsteps of his father, his uncle Bruce and a cousin, Jordan. In addition, his grandfather, Nat, is a recipient of Boy Scout’s highest honor, the Silver Beaver Award.
He is a member of Riverhead Boy Scout Troop 242 which hosted the Court of Honor.
Eagle Scout is the highest rank of the Boy Scouts of America, attained by only 2 percent of Scouts.
An Eagle Scout must have completed at least 21 merit badges and organized a service project that benefits his church, community, or school.
Talmage led a crew that built a formal entrance to the historic Baiting Hollow Cemetery, which dates back to Colonial times. The project involved the installation of post and chain fencing, creating a stone access road, laying a cobblestone entrance, and building and planting two flower beds with irrigation. The final project tallied over 300 man-hours. Members of his troop, family and church all worked together to make it happen.
Talmage was honored with presentations from State Senator Ken LaValle, Assemblyman Dan Losquadro, as well as from the Order of the Arrow and the Commissioner of the Benjamin Tallmadge Boy Scout District. Governor George Yaede of the Riverhead Moose Lodge also made a presentation.
Eleven Eagle Scouts were in attendance at the ceremony.
A 2011 graduate of Riverhead High School, Talmage is a freshman at Cornell University where he is majoring in plant science with a concentration in turf grasses with an agri-business minor.
Photos courtesy of Doug Talmage
Photo caption: Four Talmage family Eagle Scouts: Doug, David, Jordan and Bruce.
