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Durrence earns Eagle Scout
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Assistant Scout Master Michele Patterson and Scout Master Frank Patterson congratulate Garrett Durrence on becoming an Eagle Scout. - photo by Photo provided
On June 27, an Eagle Scout Court of Honor was held at Bloomingdale Alliance Church to honor Wade Garrett Durrence, 17,  who was awarded Boy Scouts of America's highest honor: the rank of Eagle Scout. 
 
Garrett is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Richard DeLoach of Meldrim and Mr. and Mrs. Wade Durrence of Pembroke.
 
Durrence is a 2010 graduate of South Effingham High School and is enrolled at Savannah Technical College, to pursue Criminal Justice. He has had many achievements while in Scouting. He joined Guyton's Troop 295 in March 2003 under the leadership of Scout Master James Frank Patterson Sr.
 
He has camped for a total of 81 nights, logged 447 hours of community service and hiked a total of 28 miles. Durrence is a member of the Order of the Arrow, and has earned a total of 50 merit badges. He also attended the 2005 National Boy Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia, earned a 50 mile afoot/afloat where he canoed down the Savannah River. He also earned a Paul Bunyan Woodsman Award in August 2004, Den Chief Service Award in April 2005, Snorkeling in July 2005, and Scuba in September 2006.
 
For his Eagle Scout service planned, cleared land and trimmed up trees, designed the trail and demonstrated leadership while carrying out his service project. 
 
The total hours worked by Durrence and other volunteers totaled 337 hours at completion, and the project took approximately a year to complete.
 
The Wellness Committee at Marlow Elementary School is promoting healthy eating habits, along with the importance of exercise, and wanted a walking trail built so the students and faculty could have a safe environment to walk on the school's campus. 
 
The trail measures 1,613 feet long, six feet wide and is outlined by treated landscape timbers that are secured down with rebar. It is filled in with
landscape mulch that was donated by Bloomingdale Nurseries. All materials for the trail were donated by numerous local businesses and the Wellness Committee of Marlow School.
 
The total cost of this project, if materials would have had to be purchased, was $4,600.