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Community Corner

Eagle Court of Honor Held for Sachem Alum Michael Gudema

Member of Troop 91 receives highest rank attainable in boy scouting.

What do Gerald Ford, 22nd U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, 13th and 21st U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg have in common?  They all reached the level of Eagle Scout, the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). At last week's Eagle Court of Honor Ceremony held at , Michael Gudema, 19, a member of BSA Troop 91 in Lake Ronkonkoma joined this elite group.

Requirements include earning at least 21 merit badges, and demonstrating service and leadership.  This includes an ambitious service project that an aspiring Eagle organizes and oversees.

At the ceremony, Gudema was presented with a medal and badge as symbols of his accomplishments.

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As a Class of 2010 Sachem North alum, who was on the track and field team, Gudema chose as his project the construction and design of two spring track and field record boards for Sachem High School, one for the boy's team and one for the girl's team.  This took 180 volunteer hours to complete.

Gudema received permission from the school district, then designed the boards, estimated the costs of the materials required, organized several fundraisers to cover expenses, solicited donations of lumber from local businesses and purchased the materials to bring the project to fruition with the funds he raised.

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The boards were constructed and installed at Sachem High School in the spring of 2010.

The keynote speaker at the ceremony, chosen by Gudema, was one of his mentors, John Horst, a retired Sachem High School teacher, who still coaches boys track & field at North.

"[Scouting] made me an all around better person.  It got me into community service and giving back.  I do a lot of community service at school.  You don't need to be paid for everything," said Gudema , who is currently attending SUNY Geneseo.  "It built my character, and made me a nicer person all around."

Troop 91's newest Eagle Scout received several commendations from high-ranking officials and various organizations.

Leg. Tom Muratore, who was a scout, was on hand to present Gudema with a certificate of achievement on behalf of the legislature.

"It's a lot of hard work, lots of volunteer hours, lots of service to the community and lots of sacrifices on the scout's part and parents' part," said Muratore.

Certificates of Achievement were also bestowed on behalf of Assemblyman Al Graf, and State Sen. Lee Zelden; and a letter of congratulations was received from the Suffolk County Police Commissioner, Richard Dormer.

In addition, letters of recognition were sent from President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Hillary Clinton, Senator Kristen Gillibrand, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Congressman Steve Israel,  Sachem Principal John Dolan, the FBI, West Point, the U.S. Army, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Air Force, Major League Baseball, NASCAR, Pope Benedict the 16th and more.

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