Troop 165 held an Eagle Scout Court of Honor for John Casey Howard at the Rincon Lions Club on Oct. 27.

Howard is the son of Jake and Cindy Howard. He has a younger sister, Carlie, who is a sophomore at South Effingham High School. Howard is a senior at South Effingham High School and also dual enrolled at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, where he is a full-time student.

He has maintained a 4.0 grade point average since first grade and will graduate from SEHS in May 2010.

He plans on attending the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is also a black belt in karate.

During his scouting career Howard held the leadership positions of: senior patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, patrol leader, quartermaster and troop guide.

Howard attended many campouts and scouting functions in his Scouting career. Some interesting places he visited and camped were: Camp Bob Hardin in Saluda, N.C.; Parris Island, S.C.; Camp Bud Schiele, Rutherfordton, N.C.; Kennedy Space Center in Florida; and also Camp Blue Heron in Riceboro.

An important part of his scouting career was being elected to the Order of the Arrow. This is an honor that you cannot earn, but is bestowed upon you by fellow scouters.  After attaining the rank of a First Class Scout and being active with his troop for two years, Howard went through his Ordeal at Camp Blue Heron and became a member of the Tomo Chi-Chi Lodge No. 119 in Savannah.

Howard’s Eagle Scout project was to install a total of 10 benches around two playgrounds at Blandford Elementary School.

He completed 28 merit badges, hiked 38 miles and camped 76 nights and donated 147 hours toward service projects on his trail to Eagle Scout.

On May 10, Howard passed his Board of Review for Scouting’s highest rank, “Eagle Scout.”