Last Saturday, Boy Scouts of America Troop 87 in Daphne presented its highest award of Eagle Scout to three men.

Stephen Michael Smith, 18, Matthew Aaron Shipp, 18, and Britton Jacob Schneider, 18, received the honor at ceremonies attended by about 80 people. The event was held at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Daphne.

Smith, son of Capt. and Mrs. John D. Smith of Daphne, and a Bayside Academy senior,  earned 35 merit badges. His Eagle Scout community service project involved blazing a new, 3,000-foot trail at Village Point Park Preserve called “Thorny Trail,” where he built benches and erected birdhouses. Smith will attend the University of South Alabama in Mobile to study music next year.

Shipp, son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Shipp, and a graduate of Bayside Academy, earned 26 merit badges for his Eagle award.  He constructed a functioning pump-well and rest area with benches at Village Point Park Preserve as his Eagle Scout community service project. Shipp is a freshman at Auburn University, studying industrial engineering.

Schneider, son of Mr. and Mrs. Carl J. Schneider of Daphne, earned 27 merit badges for his Eagle award.  For his Eagle Scout project, he restored “Turtle Trail,” which was destroyed after Hurricane Katrina, and he rebuilt the D’Olive cemetery trail and fence at Village Point Park Preserve. He will enlist in the United States Coast Guard upon graduation from Daphne High School this summer.

Boy Scouts of America Troop 87 in Daphne is sponsored by the Knights of Columbus Council 2737.

Troop 87 is directed by George Glaser, Scoutmaster; Mario Flores, assistant Scoutmaster; Tommy Bertagnolli, Scoutmaster emeritus; Chaplain Malcolm Zellner; and Max A. Hansen III, assistant Scoutmaster and adviser.

(Submitted by J.D. Smith)