On Feb. 21, four Ponte Vedra Beach teens were recognized for earning the Eagle Scout award, the highest award in Scouting. Daniel Jerome, Mason Kranking, Matthew Pak and Ben Yoder are all students at Ponte Vedra High School and are members of Scouting America Troop 277. By becoming an Eagle Scout, these four Scouts have achieved what only 4% of Scouts nationwide accomplish.
Troop 277 is a Scouting America troop sponsored by Christ Episcopal Church in Ponte Vedra Beach. Through the Scouting program, the four Eagle Scouts have developed outdoor skills, self-confidence and ethics through the activities and leadership opportunities that they have had. To achieve the Eagle Scout rank, Scouts must complete six ranks, earn more than 21 merit badges, provide leadership to fellow Scouts, and plan and execute a project to benefit the community.
Daniel Jerome is a senior at Ponte Vedra High School and the son of David and Dawn Jerome. Daniel’s Eagle Scout project was completed in partnership with Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center in St. Augustine, where he built three ADA-compliant wooden podiums to display the program “Journey: 450 Years of the African-American Experience.” Outside of Scouting, Daniel is a member of the National Honor Society, National Math Honor Society and the Computer Science Honor Society. Daniel plans to attend the University of Central Florida this fall, majoring in computer science.
Mason Kranking is a sophomore at Ponte Vedra High School and is the son of Jamie and Renee Kranking. In Scouting, Mason has been very active serving as leader in many different roles and has camped over 120 nights. For his Eagle Project, Mason planned and built a nine-hole frisbee disc golf course at Ponte Vedra High School. Outside of Scouting, Mason is involved in the Future Business Leaders of America and is on the honor roll.
Matthew Pak is a senior at Ponte Vedra High School and son of Ray and Kathleen Pak. For his Eagle Scout project, Matthew revitalized and designed new garden beds in the Christ Episcopal Church courtyard using native North Florida plants. Outside of Scouting, Matthew is involved with cross country and wrestling at Ponte Vedra and with National Honor Society and Unity for Ukraine.
Ben Yoder is a freshman at Ponte Vedra High School and the son of David and Katie Yoder. Ben has been very active in Scouting with over 90 nights camping and many leadership positions. His Eagle project involved building an outdoor classroom with benches and a teacher’s podium for Palmer Catholic Academy. Outside of Scouting, Ben runs cross country and track at Ponte Vedra, is on the honor roll and is involved with the Biotech Academy.
These four young men add to the 140-plus Eagle Scouts over the past 64 years from Troop 277. Each of these Scouts has worked tirelessly reach the rank of Eagle Scout. In doing this, they have improved themselves and benefited their community.