The Boy Scout motto of
Be Prepared has special meaning to Devin. It doesn't mean just being
prepared to help others in emergencies or disasters. Be Prepared also
applies to being prepared for life, through the challenges
that situations sometimes bring. For Devin, one of the challenges
involved coming to Boys' Home in the summer of 2011. By persevering,
sometimes on his own and sometimes through the persistence of the Boys'
Home staff, Devin settled into the structure at Boys' Home and attained
two of his primary goals: to complete his Eagle project and to graduate
from high school.
The Boy Scout motto and
the mission of Boys' Home complement each other. At Boys' Home,
preparing also means learning to become a productive citizen by
developing your mental, physical, social and spiritual potentials. For
Devin, it meant developing a strong heart, mind, spirit and body.
Devin began
scouting on May 28, 2006 when he joined Troop 2826 in Chester, Virginia.
After attaining his Life Scout Rank in May 2010, VanGundy joined Troop
66 in the summer of 2011 after first arriving at Boys' Home. He has
earned a total of 21 merit badges. These include Citizenship in the
Community, Citizenship in the Nation, and Citizenship in the World as
well as badges in Camping, Communications, Fingerprinting, Cooking,
Emergency Preparedness, Environmental Science, First Aid, Swimming,
Leatherwork, Nature, Personal Fitness, Mammal Study, Fishing, Indian
Lore, Family Life, Archery, Personal Management and Automotive
Maintenance. While in the Boys' Home Troop 66, VanGundy has held the
leadership positions of Quartermaster and Senior Patrol Leader.
Devin's Eagle
project was constructing feral cat shelters, which took a total of 100
man-hours to complete. Assisting Devin were Chad Whitmer, Scoutmaster,
Amy Hubbard, Assistant Scoutmaster, Danny Cale, maintenance chief at
Boys' Home and Don Minniear, maintenance staff. Also helping were
members of Troop 66.
Invited to share
in Devin's special day were his family and friends, former teachers,
scout representatives, Boys' Home staff and residents. Donnie Wheatley,
current Executive Director and former Scoutmaster of Troop 66, was the
Master of Ceremonies. Other participants were Greg Lemmer, Bonnie
Wheatley, Sandra Scruggs, Reggie Gibbs and members of Troop 66.
Devin plans to return to Chester and, in the next few weeks, join Job Corps.
