On Oct. 14, Zachary M. Buchheit was awarded an Eagle Scout during a Court of Honor ceremony at Annunciation Church, 410 Walnut St.
Buchheit received the award from Scoutmaster Jeff Strohl and Assistant Scoutmasters Dan Cero, Greg Forsburg and Ken Shreckengast.
Buchheit joined Cub Scout Pack 28 at St. Ann Church in September 2000 as a Tiger Cub and over the next five years advanced through the ranks of Wolf, Bear and Webelos.
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ZACHARY M. BUCHHEIT
As a Cub Scout, Buchheit earned the Parvuli Dei, the Roman Catholic Religious award, and the Arrow of Light, the highest award in Cub Scouts.
On April 27, 2005, Buchheit crossed over from Webelos to Boy Scouts and joined Troop 7 of Annunciation Church.
He attended Camp Karoondinah the first summer and Trexler Scout Reservation each summer after that, becoming a Trexler Ranger every year.
On June 1, 2005, Buchheit advanced to the rank of Tenderfoot. He participated in the local Flag Day march for many years.
On June 29, 2005, he advanced to the rank of Second Class. He visited Hawk Mountain Sanctuary and watched predatory birds migrating.
On Jan. 25, 2006, Buchheit advanced to the rank of First Class.
He participated in many community service projects, including trout stocking, food drives for St. Anthony Center, volunteering to play a victim for a First Responders Emergency Drill class and helped with many Eagle Scout projects.
On Sept. 6, 2006, Buchheit advanced to the rank of Star, where he continued his leadership skills by helping younger Scouts.
On Sept. 3, 2008, he advanced to the rank of Life Scout. He enjoys camping, canoeing and white-water rafting, especially at Ohio Pyle where he used the kayaks. He also participated in winter camp and received a cross-country skiing activity badge.
In August 2008, Buchheit joined the newly chartered Venture Crew 2777, where he enjoyed many high-adventure trips, including a trip to Vermont where he camped, biked, rafted and drove to the top of Mount Washington.
As a Boy Scout, Buchheit also received the Ad Altare Dei Roman Catholic Religious award and the BSA Scuba award.
He earned 39 merit badges.
On July 17, 2007, Buchheit was inducted into the Order of the Arrow, the national Scouting honor society. He has held the following leadership positions: instructor, scribe, quartermaster, patrol leader, librarian and senior patrol leader.
Buchheit is a student at Penn State University in the ROTC program where he is majoring in chemical engineering. He also is enlisted in the National Guard.
Buchheit's Eagle project was to create a memorial gardenin Hepburn Township for those who died from cancer.
He created a 3-foot equilateral triangle in East Hepburn Estates that was lined with boxwoods with a bench and an autumnalis cherry tree in the center. Around the tree were three wegalias and behind them was a barberry on each side. A memorial stone is in front of the tree.
The garden took more than 90 hours to complete and 11 Scouts and volunteers helped work on the project. Buchheit received donations from many local businesses, including Helminiak's Greenhouse, Lowe's, Wools Decorative Concrete, Leonard Block Co., Jim Leigh and Pudgies Pizza, along with assistance from Pennycoff Excavating, Fort Muncy Nursery and Robert Kibler. Several fundraising events were held to raise money to complete the project.
