The eighth annual Carmel Mayor’s Breakfast for Scouting raised more than $32,000, topping last year’s total by about $5,000 making it the largest Breakfast for Scouting event to date.
The breakfast, which was April 18 at the Renaissance Indianapolis North Hotel, celebrated the achievement of several Carmel scouts, including 33 Eagle Scouts named in 2012, leading all Hamilton County communities in both youth members and adult volunteers and having one Eagle Scout, Ben Gormley, complete every Merit Badge in the Boy Scouts of America program.
The ceremony was headed by the breakfast chair, Matt Conrad. Conrad said the motivation for the breakfast was to raise $150,000 through this breakfast and others like it in the surrounding areas.
Another $150,000 is to be raised through donations from businesses. Conrad then introduced the master of ceremonies, Eagle Scout, Carlton Anker from Troop 936.
Troops from the Del-Mi district then presented the colors, lead the pledge and Tyler Freudenthal, an Eagle Scout from Troop 120, opened the breakfast in prayer.
Councilman Ron Carter interviewed two Cub Scouts, P.J. Smart, from Pack 198, and David Dillon, from Pack 197. Dillon was the top salesman in his pack for the past two years.
“Many, many years ago, when I was in Cub Scouts, we sold marshmallows,” Carter said. “Our pack at Speedway sold 21,000 bags of Curtis Marshmallows.”
Carter demonstrated the immense impact that scouting has on boys’ lives by sharing such fond memories. Smart’s favorite part of Cub Scouts is “camp and bb shooting.”
The interview was followed by a speech by Ben Snyder, an Eagle Scout from Troop 112.
“Scouting can be summed up in two words, being prepared,” Snyder said. “Whether it be at home, in a community, on a battlefield or at the finish line of a marathon, Scouts are ready to answer the call, to respond to effective action and leadership, to be productive members of our community.”
While Mayor Brainard could not attend the breakfast, he filmed a short speech thanking the many donors who helped make the event possible and supported the Scouts.
Brainard talked about his experience of earning his Eagle Scout in the early 70s and his two sons earning theirs in the Carmel area.
“I know through personal experience how important the Scouting program can be in a young persons life and everything it can help them achieve throughout their lifetime,” Brainard said.