Eagle Scouts from Troop 225 celebrated at Court of Honor

Boy Scout Troop 225 held a quadruple Eagle Scout Court of Honor ceremony at the Merrick Golf Clubhouse on June 30, recognizing four young men who have earned Scouting’s highest rank — a rare achievement that signifies leadership and responsible citizenship.

To achieve the honor of Eagle Scout, the four have climbed the ranks, earned many merit badges, and completed their own extensive community service project that they organized and oversaw. A Court of Honor is a special ceremony specifically designed to honor Eagle Scouts.

“We’ve had a lot of kids in the troop that are ranked up to Eagle, which is a great accomplishment,” said Pasquale Ciniglio, a uniform leader from Troop 225 in Merrick and father to one of the Eagle Scouts. “It’s only like 4 percent that (have) actually achieved that rank throughout the country, so it’s a great honor to have.”

Joseph Ciniglio and Shardul Singh both earned the rank recently by completing projects that renovated parts of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2770 in Bellmore, also known as the VFW Hall. Their projects brought improvements to both the building’s interior and exterior. New flooring was installed inside, and the outside received upgrades to its paint.

Rental Hall Chairman Stuart Sanseviro appreciated the support the Scouts have provided for the facility through their projects.

“I love them to death,” Sanseviro said. “You know, when the boys leave here, as far as I’m concerned, if they ever need a resume or anything else, they’re always welcome to come back.”

Joseph Ciniglio has served as a Scout for about seven years and has found it an important part of his education.

“I think Scouting teaches you a lot about yourself and gives you those leadership skills that you’re going to need for the real world,” he said.

After Scouts reach the rank of Eagle and they turn 18, their time in the program usually comes to an end — but it marks the beginning of their adulthood with all of the lessons that they have learned.

“If you get to Eagle Scout, that sticks with you forever,” Joseph Ciniglio said. “I think the next step is just try to give back, and just try to use that brain. I like to use the skills you learn on the range to keep yourself moving forward in life.”

“It’s a big honor,” Singh said of earning the Eagle rank. “There’s a lot of work that goes into it, a lot of responsibility, a lot of dedication — it’s a privilege. And I’m really proud of myself and everyone else in my troop and across the world that has achieved this status.”

Singh said he’s satisfied with his time in the Scouts, a contrast to how he initially felt when he was a child enrolling in the program.

“Even though I didn’t know it at the time, (my dad) knew that it would be a really good experience for me, and I am really glad that he kind of pushed me into doing it because of the memories that I made and the skills that I learned,” Singh said. “It was all completely worth it in the end.”

The other two Scouts — brothers Preston and Dante Reitz — earned their Eagle ranks in 2018 and 2021, respectively. They were not celebrated in an Eagle Scout Court of Honor at the time due to coronavirus pandemic restrictions.

Preston Reitz completed his community project in 2018, building a fence for the goats at Town of Hempstead’s Norman J. Levy Park and Preserve. His journey to Eagle Scout began when he was a Cub Scout about a decade ago, when he learned about the importance of skill-building and preparedness.

“It takes a lot of dedication from all the scoutmasters (and) all the parents that are involved — that’s where it really starts from,” Preston Reitz said. “The reason why I stuck through it is, of course, the parents involved in everything, but it’s really the set of values and morals, including being trustworthy, loyal and helpful. It’s those values and morals that you take with you onto the next step of life.”

Dante Reitz completed his Eagle Scout project in 2021 in the midst of the pandemic. He volunteered to help the local animal shelter Bobbi and the Strays in Freeport, a nonprofit, no-kill pet adoption organization. One of the best things about the Boy Scouts was the hands-on education he received, he said. 

“You don’t really get to understand a lesson unless you experience something,” Dante Reitz said. “It’s a lot better to learn through experience than to learn just by being told something said in a classroom. Always going out and actually doing things is a really good way to refine yourself as a person, like get more in touch, be more social.”

“An Eagle Scout project is a demonstration of a young man’s leadership ability,” assistant Scoutmaster Heywood “Woody” Blaufeux said. “The basic things that we try to teach are good citizenship, self-reliance and physical fitness.”

Blaufeux founded Troop 225 more than 50 years ago, and in that time, more than 50 Scouts have reached the rank of Eagle.

“I would just reiterate that Scouting has been the passion of my life and the legacy that I feel that I’ve been involved with,” Blaufeux said, “and hopefully I’ve been a good example for the hundreds of Scouts that pass through Troop 225.”