Eagle Scout

So almost a year ago Tay started the EAGLE PROJECT!!! Creating Birthday bags for the food and Care Coalition. It was a creative and well appreciated idea by the Scout Board and the community. It took several more months to talk Taylor into writing a paper about his leadership skills and good qualities. Kind of like pulling teeth. I did get to write a letter of recommend and I was honored to do so. I have included that letter because I think he should know how I feel about him as a person not just as my son. Taylor is not one to make a big deal about things. So a phone call from the Scouting Chair tonight to see if we were ready for his court of honor was .....well.. shocking. He forgot to tell us, didnt think it was a big deal.
It is a big deal!

So Im using this format to announce

Shawn Taylor Rowley has earned his Eagle Scout and we will be holding his court of honor Sunday Sept 19th at 7pm. ( If I can hot glue all of his badges on his bandalo in time) Friends are invited to our home at 5pm to share some light food fare, mostly pizza, deviled eggs , and bread pudding if Taylor has his way.

As a family we are so pleased and honored that he has accomplished this Rank in Scouting. We love him dearly.

Below is the flyer he used and the letter I wrote.

In the words of Marie Antoinette, “Let them eat cake!”
Hello my name is Taylor Rowley and I am currently doing my eagle project!
I am gathering the following items:

Cake mixes (any flavor)
Frosting in a can (also any flavor)
Balloons
Candles
Also $5 will purchase a full bag if you don’t have the items!
The reason for gathering these items is to create a birthday bag to donate to the Food bank down in Provo. With the economy the way it is there are definitely some children who aren’t able to celebrate their birthdays. Please help me gather these items so that these children in need may have at least a very small birthday party! Every thing helps! I will be coming around on this Saturday, the 21st of November, to pick up any items you are willing to donate. Please just leave anything you are donating on your porch in bags. For money donations just put it in a bag weighed down with rocks or something else heavy on the porch.
Thank you very much in advance for anything you can donate!

May 15, 2010

To the Scout Review Board;

In regards to Shawn Taylor Rowley. Taylor is my son. It is hard to qualify or quantify what that means in terms of a letter of recommendation. He is the finest young man I know. That may seem like a casual indicator of a young mans qualities coming from his mother, so let me expound.

Taylor is honorable. He knows who he is and is comfortable in his skin. He is not the try and fit in kid. He avoids trouble. His head is level and his heart is most often in a good place.

Taylor is generous. He gives of his time and talents. Willing to help a new neighbor move in on an early Saturday morning. Plays with small children who endlessly jump on his back and seek his attention. He is at the Hearthstone Manor or Pioneer Villa most Sunday mornings serving the elderly. He is the first to hold open a door for a stranger and help them carry something in. He is easy to call upon because there is no sense of drudgery or unpleasant duty from him. If it needs to be done cheerfully, you ask my son. That’s true for chores at home to (minus folding socks, he is no fan of that).

Taylor is a leader. Not the boisterous standout and be seen type. He is silly and lighthearted but typically a quieter person. His example is what draws adults towards him. He knows how to encourage. He does not use guilt or shaming he simply knows how to reach people. Individuals can be in a very bad place emotionally, spiritually or mentally and Taylor will know what to say to sooth and lighten that soul. He will demonstrate the path to follow.

I strongly and joyfully recommend that Taylor Rowley is ready in every way to become an Eagle Scout. When you meet him you will see there is no pretense no hidden agenda. He is soft and easy. He does not sale himself well and dislikes doing so. He is the epitome of what a scout should be. You can observe him at a distance and know he has to be a Scout.

Sincerely Terri Rowley