Snellville Teen Earns Eagle Scout Rank after Project at AWARE

John "Bobby" Nice, III was recognized at an Eagle Scout Court of Honor on September 28, 2019 for earning the rank of Eagle Scout with six Eagle palms on July 20, 2019. Nice has been a member of Boy Scout Troop 548 at Church of the Redeemer in Snellville for the past seven years, and has been in scouting since he began as a Tiger Cub three years prior to that.

From September 2018 through June 2019, Nice worked on creating an outdoor enclosure for fawns at the AWARE Wildlife Center in Lithonia. The AWARE Center is a nonprofit that rescues injured and orphaned wildlife that is native to Georgia. At the AWARE Center, Nice worked with Executive Director Scott Lange and Animal Care Director Marjan Ghadhrdan to put his project in motion. Troop leaders who supported Nice's eagle project were Scoutmaster Earl Collins, Sr., Eagle Coach Bobby McNeely, and Eagle Mentor Dean Abercrombie.

For his eagle project, Nice dismantled part of an already-existing structure that was an unfinished raptor enclosure. With a total of 20 people, including family and members of his scout troop, Nice completed many activities for his project. He put up fencing to a height of 9 feet; poured concrete and added a divider fence; and installed brackets, gates, and five kennels for the more than 1,500 square foot enclosure.

Everyone invested a total of more than 940 hours into the project, and Nice spent 330 total individual hours on it. Nice also collected and donated 120 towels to the AWARE Center. The AWARE Center held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 15, 2019 to open the fawn enclosure. More information about Nice's eagle project may also be found on his blog at https://eagleprojectbybobby.wordpress.com.

Currently a junior in the Honors Program at Georgia Cyber Academy, Nice is a member of the school's National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society. During Summer 2019, Nice completed the National Youth Leadership Forum Program in Medicine through Envision, George Mason University, and Emory University.

Nice has achieved many awards in scouting, including the William T. Hornaday Award for completing an extensive conservation project of nearly 650 total hours at the Dunwoody Nature Center. He has also earned the National Outdoor Award in Conservation and Camping; National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience Commitment to Leadership Award; and all of the Catholic religious awards in scouting. This year, Nice is serving as his Boy Scout troop's senior patrol leader.

As a brotherhood member of Order of the Arrow - a national honor society for boy scouts - Nice completed two days of service at Camp Rainey Mountain in Clayton, Georgia. He participated in Boy Scouting's National Youth Leadership Training, National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience, National Jamboree, and World Jamboree. He also attended Philmont Scout Ranch and Camp Alaflo.

In addition, Nice has completed 75 hours of volunteer work at Dunwoody Nature Center as a summer camp counselor. Further, he volunteered 55 hours at two local Cub Scout camps, as well as with various events at St. John Neumann Church in Lilburn and Redeemer Church in Snellville.

Nice lives in Snellville, and is the son of John Nice, Jr. of Lawrenceville and Michele Babcock-Nice of Snellville.