Lodi boy earns Eagle Scout rank
Worked with Tree Lodi to plant trees at Lodi Lake launch
Local Boy Scout Logan Roper recently joined an exclusive club when he obtained the prestigious Eagle Scout designation.
President Gerald Ford, astronaut Neil Armstrong and film director Steven Spielberg are just a few notables that share the honor with Roper, as only 4 percent of Boy Scouts achieve this special ranking. He was recognized for his achievement at the April 18 Lodi City Council Meeting.
“It means a lot to me just considering that not a lot of people have it,” Roper said. “It’s a pretty big honor to be able to stand up with a group of people and say that I’m an Eagle Scout. A majority of people in the United States and the world can’t say they’re an Eagle Scout.”
When he first joined the Boy Scout program, Roper never envisioned becoming an Eagle Scout, but after reaching the halfway point he decided he was going to keep going, he said. Roper has been working towards this achievement for at least five years, and during the process he earned 21 merit badges, developed and led a community service project and completed an Eagle Scout board review.
“The Eagle project looked very intimidating, and for me, with my background, things that are intimidating, I just kind of start doing them even though they might not end up so well,” Roper said.
For his project Roper partnered with Tree Lodi to replace trees near the boat launch at Lodi Lake.
“The work wasn’t the actual project itself. It was the process of getting the project started and finding a mentor, finding a project, and getting all the specifics and details for the project. It was the leadership of getting it all done,” Roper said.
With the help of Tree Lodi, Roper was able to garner 35 volunteers for the project and together they planted two dozen trees.
In order to earn his badges, Roper completed a majority of them during summer camp.
“Summer camp is one of the best places to complete badges,” Roper said. “It’s about a week-long program and most of the time, depending on how you handle your time, you can get up to three or four badges a week,” Roper said.
Now that he has become an Eagle Scout, he plans to continue being active in his community.
“I do a lot of volunteer work,” Roper said. “I’m a Lodi police cadet, so I do volunteer work that way, and I’ll probably find other ways to do volunteer work,” he said.
In his free time, Roper studies martial arts and recently tested for his third-degree black belt. He’s also in the process of joining DeMolay, an international fraternal organization for young men ages 12 to 21. He is a sophomore at Benjamin Holt Preparatory Academy.