On Sunday, April 27, at 3 p.m. at Splitlog Baptist Church, 14-year-old Kris Parnell of Anderson was awarded Boy Scouting’s top achievement, the rank of Eagle Scout.
Kris started his scouting career while in the 1st grade as a Tiger Cub. He was a Cub Scout in Pack 95 in Anderson for four and one-half years, until he was old enough to move up to a Boy Scout Troop. He then became part of Troop 95 in Anderson, where he started working on the trail to becoming an Eagle by advancing through the ranks of Scout, Tenderfoot, 2nd Class, and First Class. He then started working on earning merit badges and acquiring the required leadership experience needed. He progressed to the rank of Star Scout, then Life Scout. After being in Troop 95 for two and one-half years, he then chose to move to Troop 100 in Neosho, where he continued to work on merit badges and leadership skills.
As a final step in completing the requirements for Eagle Scout, he had to do a community service project where he was able to demonstrate the leadership skills he had learned, as well as keep track of all expenses, time spent on the project, and any other information. As his project, he chose to build one of the new dugouts at the new ballpark in Anderson. From start to finish, it took him almost a year to complete all the requirements to become an Eagle Scout.
At his Eagle ceremony, he received many congratulatory letters from many people around the United States, including the President and First Lady, the Vice-President, the governor of Missouri, the commander of the Blue Angels, and the president of the Nintendo Corporation. State Representative Kevin Wilson attended his ceremony and presented him with a proclamation from the Missouri senate.
Kris stated that “although it took a long time, I’m really glad I was able to stick with it. This is something that only about four or five percent of all boy scouts nationally ever achieve. It is something that will (hopefully) help me in the future on college and job applications. I am very proud that I was able to accomplish this.”
Kris earned a total of 33 merit badges, in addition to other awards such as BSA Lifeguard, Mile Swim and SCUBA. He has held various leadership offices in Boy Scouts, such as patrol leader, senior patrol leader and quartermaster.
Kris is the son of Steve and Kristal Parnell of Anderson, and the grandson of Lavon and Mary Lou Johnson, also of Anderson, and Floyd and Sheila Parnell of Cassville.
