Neville promoted to Eagle Scout

Chauncey Neville joined the 2 percent of the Boy Scouts of America who earned their Eagle Scout on March 2.

The percentage is higher in Saratoga, according to Boy Scout leader Gene Smith. More than nine boys have earned their Eagle Scout in the last 10 years, Smith said. With only four boys left in Troop 153, all of them are working toward their Eagle Scout.

Three of those members of the troop participated in Neville’s Court of Honor at the Platte Valley Community Center (PVCC) gym.

Gene Smith, Scout Master for Troop 153 and an Eagle Scout himself, led the ceremony.

It was fitting that Neville’s Court of Honor was held at the gym, as that is where he worked on his project.

Two panthers, the town of Saratoga Logo and the PVCC logo are painted on the west wall of the gym. The idea for the project came to Neville in Art Nuevo, Saratoga High School’s art club, last year when Neville was talking to his art teacher, Linda Fisher-Perue. She said she would help if he took the lead on the project.

Neville had been looking for an Eagle Scout project for a long time, he said. Neville wanted to do something the town would appreciate. He said he got to thinking about the gym.

“Everybody thinks of it as the middle school gym, but now it is the whole town’s gym,” Neville said. Adding the logos made the wall prettier, too, he said.

“Chauncey did a great job. His leadership got everyone involved to come during spring break and paint,” Fisher-Perue said.

In 1991, Jim Reed was hired by Saratoga High School to design the panther that is painted in the high school gym. After designing it, Reed gave the rights of the design to Saratoga High School to use however they wanted. This is the panther that is painted on the Community Center gym wall.

Neville transferred the panther to a transparency and used a projector to display the panther on the wall.

Tracing the panther was painstakingly slow, Fisher-Perue said, as the panther had a lot of detail.

Neville said a plaque was put up recognizing him for his project, which has led to several compliments from people in the community.

Neville said he is thankful for all the help he had during he project.

Neville, who graduated from Saratoga High School last spring, is 18 years old. He became a Boy Scout when he was 11 years old while living in Montana. The program was sponsored by his church. Saratoga’s Boy Scout program is sponsored by the Saratoga Lions Club.

During the ceremony, Neville recognized three people as mentors in his journey to become an Eagle Scout: Frank Hanosek, his Montana Scout Master, Sterling Conover, Camp Commissioner at the Boy Scout Camp Neville worked at, and Gene Smith, Neville’s assistant Scout Master.

Neville has completed one semester of college and is now preparing for a two-year mission for his church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.