New Eagle Scout is service minded

Becoming an Eagle Scout was a labor of love for Travis Kaminisky, who earned the prestigious distinction last month.

Kaminsky, 18, of Wantagh, was joined by about 75 family members, friends, fellow scouts and local dignitaries at his April 11 ceremony at the Wantagh Memorial Congregational Church. A member of Troop 96, Kaminsky has been in the scouts for a decade.

Becoming an Eagle Scout requires the completion of a community service project. Kaminsky said he wanted to do something near and dear to him, so he helped out his band teacher at Wantagh High School, Mindy Dragovich.

Kaminsky built a wooden cabinet to store percussion instruments. The five-foot by five-foot by three-foot cabinet was done using construction-grade materials, he said. Kaminsky and his volunteers built it at his house on May 10, 2014, and three weeks later they installed it in the band room.

He raised more than $1,000 to fund the project. Additionally, Kaminsky and his helpers organized the school’s music library, which includes sheet music and various recordings of the band’s performances.

The 2014 graduate of Wantagh High School was a member of the marching band, having played the trombone.

Dragovich was grateful, and thanked Kaminsky for giving back to the school. “Travis and his troop literally gave the band room a complete make-over,” she said. “The greatest benefit was reorganizing the percussion work space, storing all of the larger instruments in a beautiful custom cabinet, designed specifically for our space and inventory. Travis possesses tremendous leadership, which was felt by every Wantagh band student. His contribution to the band will remain with us forever.”

Kaminsky said that the project took about six months of planning, which included attending school board meetings so his project could be approved.

He also earned 24 merit badges, three more than what is required. His favorite ones were wildness survival and rifle shooting.

For three years, Kaminsky was Troop 96’s senior patrol leader, the highest rank for a scout. One of his biggest responsibilities was planning monthly trips, always keeping in mind the activities his fellow scouts would enjoy. On those trips, he had to make sure they were assigned and performing specific tasks, such as building campfires, getting water and setting up the campsite.

Holding that leadership position, Kaminsky said, was his most rewarding part of his scouting career. “I definitely felt like I gained a lot from it,” he said, “and it will help me out in the future.”

Other memorable experiences include the annual week-long summer camps upstate in Onteora, and the weekend trips to the Schiff Scouting Reservation in Wading River. Early in his scouting career, he went to Valley Forge in Pennsylvania, where he and his fellow scouts took a hike on a historical trail and they learned about the Revolutionary War.

Kaminsky is currently working at a local florist, but in October he will pack up and head to Colorado to become a member of AmeriCorps. He will help out with homelessness issues, work with inner city school children and do environmental work.

“It is definitely an opportunity to travel,” he said. “I am going more than halfway across the country from where I’ve lived my entire life. I wanted to find something where I’d be able to help people.”

The Eagle Scout badge is earned by about 5 percent of boys who enter the scouts, so Kaminsky joins some elite company. His advice to fellow scouts who want to earn the Eagle rank is to persevere. “Do not give up,” he said, “because you’re already that close.”