Five Park brothers have earned Eagle Scout rank

By GARY EMMERT 
Cove Leader-Press

According to the Boy Scouts of America, only four percent of Scouts have earned the achievement of Eagle Scout since its inception in 1911.  The list of recipients who have received the highest achievement attainable in the Boys Scouts include President Gerald Ford and Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.  
In a ceremony held Tuesday evening at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Copperas Cove, Scott and Ryan Park joined that exclusive club, which also includes their three older brothers.  
One of the basic tenets of the Boy Scouts is “To help other people at all times.”  To earn the title of Eagle Scout, a candidate must participate in an Eagle Scout Special Project that benefits an organization other than the Boy Scouts of America.  
For brothers Scott and Ryan Park, their project supported the City of Killeen’s Environmental Service Department.
Twice a year, the city asks volunteers to help them educate and reach out to the public.  
According to Israel Garza, Project Manager for the City of Killeen, the two Park brothers took charge of groups which marked stormwater drains and handed out flyers to the public.  
“Ordinarily, we ask that 500 flyers be handed out during our Inlet Marketing Event. Between the two of them and their older brother TJ, who participated a few years ago, they passed out over 3,500 documents,” said Garza.  “Each brother wanted to best the older brother.” 
In addition to handing out flyers, Ryan and Scott also took charge of the volunteer groups and performed safety briefings before going out to mark the storm drains.  
The volunteers included other Boy Scouts that they had recruited to help out.  “They did such a great job and were instrumental in the success of our event,” added Garza.  “We can’t thank them enough.”
Brett Park, the oldest of the five brothers at 26, is a graduate of Moody High School and currently attending Texas A&M University-Central Texas.  He is married with a son, perhaps another future Eagle Scout, and another one on the way.  
“As I think about these two little boys in my mind and look at them now, I see how they have grown and become men and the Scout program has helped them do that,” said Brett during the presentation for his two youngest brothers.
Eric and TJ Park are both graduates of Copperas Cove High School and  spent two years doing missionary work after high school as did their older brother, Brett, whose mission work found him in Brazil.  
Eric’s mission work was in Anaheim and TJ in Charlotte, North Carolina. 
According to Marie Park, the boys’ mother, Eric’s project was painting the stage at the Copperas Cove theatre.
After graduation, Scott and Ryan both plan to follow in their brothers’ footsteps by participating in mission work for two years before attending college.  
Whether they continue to participate actively with the Boy Scouts after high school, according to Marie, is a decision they will make when the time comes.