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40 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, February 17, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend January 26, 2004 Bob Le Bel holds a picture of his son, Michael, who is serving in the Middle East. Michael and his five brothers have achieved Eagle Scout status. The brothers are, from left, Jon, Dan, Joe, Chris and Robert. Le Bel Scouts reach top ranks By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT — When someone in the Le Bel family declares "Scout’s Honor," there’s a good chance they mean it. The family’s two youngest sons, Daniel, 17, and Joseph, 15, attained the highest Boy Scout rank of Eagle last month. According to the Boy Scouts of America Web site, just 4 percent of Boy Scouts nationwide achieve the performance-based rank. In the Le Bel family, with six sons who joined as 8-year-old Cub Scouts, the figure is 100 percent. Their mother, Debbie Le Bel, having been a Girl Scout, said the scouting experience was always something she wanted for her seven children, including daughter, Nicholette, who aside from being a Girl Scout spent countless hours helping her six siblings with Boy Scout endeavors. "My husband and I set a goal that we wanted them to accomplish this, to make Eagle, and work toward it," said Le Bel. Advertisement "I knew I wanted them all in Scouts. I was a Girl Scout and I like what it does for youth and we’re LDS (Latter-day Saints), so it’s part of our youth organization." Beginning with the oldest, Robert, born in 1976, the Le Bel sons made their way from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts and through the ranks of Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life, and Eagle. "I’ve sewn a lot of patches," said Le Bel with a laugh. To advance to each level, a Boy Scout must pass specific tests that are organized by requirements and merit badges. Attaining the rank of Eagle requires completion of 21 merit badges and a special council-approved service project entailing 100 hours in which the boy must organize and work with others. For the three older sons, Robert, Michael and Jon, now 27, 26 and 21, Eagle Scout projects involved large scale improvements for a nature reserve in San Bernardino, Calif., where the family lived until 1995. Jon created concrete and metal row markers for the Central Point Masonic Cemetery in 1998 to help families find loved ones. Daniel and Joseph, the two younger sons, helped renovate much of the Central Point Little League field last year. While all six boys went on to serve in leadership capacities in Scouting, Le Bel said the things they learned along the way built the character they needed to become Eagles. For a family with six boys, the Cub Scout experience of building a racecar was "18-fold," she joked. "I think of all the pine-wood derby cars we did for Cub Scouting," she said. "Each boy did it three years in a row, which means we built 18 pine-wood derby cars." Over the years, summers were spent at camp where swimming skills were honed, first-aid learned and leadership skills gained through helping younger Scouts. After more than two decades as a parent and Scout leader, Bob Le Bel said he looked forward to watching his children benefit from the eye-opening experiences they gained in Scouts. "I think they’ll remember the hikes to the tops of mountains," he said. "My sons have all gone on 50-mile backpacking trips � they’ve gotten to do things that they come back and think, ‘If I can do that, I can do anything.’ It’s very rewarding to watch a young man experience things like that." Jon Le Bel said scouting had helped him to achieve things that would benefit him for the rest of his life. "There was always a great feeling of accomplishment anytime we achieved anything in scouting," he said. "With Eagle, when you accomplish something like that at such a young age, a lot of people look up to you and you yourself gain a lot of respect for yourself for what you can accomplish." As for the next generation, 8-year-old Mason, son of Michael who is currently serving in Baghdad, will soon pick up the Le Bel tradition as the family’s newest Cub Scout. Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times