DUMMERSTON-Cameron Matthews, a 15-year-old from Dummerston Center who just completed his sophomore year at Brattleboro Union High School, has joined the 4% of Boy Scouts who have achieved the highest rank of Eagle Scout.
Matthews was flanked by his parents, Rev. Shawn Bracebridge and John Dunham, as he stood before family, friends, and fellow Scouts from Scouting America Troop 405 to receive his award at a Court of Honor ceremony at Dummerston Congregational Church on June 7.
The requirements to earn that rank are formidable: You have to hold the second-highest rank, Life Scout, for at least six months. You have to earn at least 21 merit badges covering skills ranging from Camping and First Aid, to Citizenship and Environmental Science, to Cooking and Personal Management.
You have to demonstrate leadership in your troop, and leadership and organizational skills to complete a service project. And, after all of that, you have to complete a Board of Review.
Bracebridge — an Eagle Scout who now serves as assistant scoutmaster of Troop 405 as well as pastor of Dummerston Congregational Church — said Matthews spoke to him about joining Scouting.
Matthews, who had been in Cub Scouts since third grade, joined Troop 405 in March 2021, saying it would be “something new that I might be interested in.”
He moved up the ranks quickly, earning his First Class badge — the first step on the track toward Eagle Scout — by November 2022. At that point, Matthews said that reaching Eagle Scout status “was obtainable.”
The next two ranks, Star and Life, require a scout to begin earning merit badges and filling leadership roles in the troop as well as the community.
Matthews completed the requirements for Star Scout in July 2023 and Life Scout in July 2024. He became Troop Guide and earned 39 merit badges.
The next step was completing his service project.
He secured donations of building materials and guided Scouts and friends in building a Peace and Justice “Little Library” at the entrance of Dummerston Church, where patrons could take and donate books.
He also led the building of a wooden cupboard for the church’s community emergency food shelf.
Matthews said deacons at the church had wanted a Little Library for years. It was initially stocked with books from the parsonage and other donations.
“People will take a book about social justice and they’ll read it, and they’ll either bring that book back or put another social justice book in its place,” he said. “It’s being used, and so books are going out, but there’s also books coming in.”
He said the motivation for the wooden food cupboard came from seeing “just cardboard boxes” serve as the food shelf near the front door of the church.
“It feels much more dignified going in there and taking things out of the cabinet, rather than reaching into a cardboard box,” he said.
Proud moment
After completing his final Board of Review, Matthews officially became an Eagle Scout on March 25. It became real on June 7, when Troop 405 Assistant Scoutmaster Alycia Sanders presented Bracebridge with the Eagle medal to pin onto Matthews’ uniform shirt. She handed Dunham the Eagle Scout certificate to present to him.
“Becoming an Eagle is a great honor, and with this honor comes great responsibility,” said Sanders.
“It’s amazing to see Cam go from being a scout that I would teach to a scout that leads others,” said Troop 405 Scoutmaster Keith Franklin. “Never stop being who you are.”
Cameron hopes to live up to Franklin’s admonition and will remain active in Troop 405 as a youth leader.
He said he has made many good friendships in his years of Scouting and learned many skills that he will use.
But, most importantly, he said he wants to be the kind of leader that he looked up to when he began his journey to Eagle six years ago.
This News item by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.