North Canton Scout 57th in Troop to Reach Eagle Rank

Only 4 percent of the Boy Scouts in the country end up making it all the way to Eagle Scout rank. 

Thomas J. (T.J.) Partridge of Troop 935 is the latest man to join those with the highest scout ranking. 

His scoutmaster, Paul Smith from the MCDonaldsville St. Paul United Methodist Church, said T.J. is the 57th from the troop to earn the Eagle Scout rank since the troop was founded in 1967.

To become an Eagle Scout, a candidate must earn 21 badges and complete a community, church or synagogue-related service project.

For his Eagle project, T.J. constructed a meditation area at Park United Methodist Church in Akron. 

He has served as Senior Patrol Leader, Patrol Leader, Troop Guide and Librarian in his troop, holds a fifth-year Pipestone, a Polar Bear Camping Award and is a member in the Order of the Arrow. T.J. joins other outstanding American citizens who have become Eagle Scouts, among them former President Gerald R. Ford, Jr., astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, and cinematographer Steven Spielberg, according to a prepared statement.

T.J. is a member of Park United Methodist Church and has participated in marching band, symphonic band, pep band and the jazz band at North Canton Hoover High School, where he is a senior. He is the son of Stephen and Susan Partridge of North Canton.