Gavin Grim and Aidan Mathieu celebrated the earning of their Eagle Scout ranks recently at the Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit. Both Scouts are members of Troop 5, chartered by Horizon Church in Allentown.

Gavin Grim, son of Amanda and the late Dan Grim, began his Scouting journey as a Tiger at Pack 74 before joining Pack 5. Gavin completed all the Cub Scout ranks and earned the Arrow of Light.

During his time in Troop 5, Gavin was a part of Scouting’s honor society – the Order of the Arrow, attended National Youth Leadership Training and earned many merit badges.

Gavin was also a leader of the Troop as Quartermaster, Chaplain’s Aid, Patrol Leader and Senior Patrol Leader. This summer, Gavin was the Wilderness Pledge Guia when he spent two-weeks hiking over 70 miles at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico.

For Gavin’s Eagle Scout project, he led an effort to upgrade the Allentown Central Catholic High School Performance Arts Association snack bar. Gavin received funds from his church, the Performance Arts Association and a Thrivent Action Team grant, as well as supply donations from Allentown Central Catholic High School, his great uncle and the R.J. Skelding Company.

Through his leadership, Gavin changed the snack bar’s serving windows’ doors from a pulley mechanism to a hydraulic lift, replaced the wood of these doors to a lighter material, painted the walls, floor and ceiling and with the help of an experienced electrician, brought the electrical outlets up to code. Overall, 140 hours of planning and volunteering were needed to complete this project.

Gavin has now joined the rank of Eagle Scouts as the 50th Eagle Scout from Troop 5. Along with being an Eagle Scout, Gavin is also the drum major at his high school and a member of the cross-country team. He will graduate from Allentown Central Catholic High School in the spring and plans to pursue an engineering degree after graduation.

Aidan Mathieu, son of Susan and Jeffrey Mathieu, began his Scouting journey as a Tiger at Pack 5. After completing all the Cub Scout ranks and earning the Arrow of Light, he crossed over to Troop 5.

Since joining Troop 5, Aidan earned the Order of the Arrow, attended National Youth Leadership Training and earned numerous merit badges. Aidan was not only a leader of his own troop as webmaster, Patrol Leader, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader and Senior Patrol Leader but was also Crew Chief on his trip to Philmont Scout Ranch.

For Aidan’s Eagle project, he built a donation bin and a 20-foot-long fence to support the Sanctuary at Haafsville. The Sanctuary is a volunteer-based no-kill animal shelter.

To achieve his goal of helping the Sanctuary, Aidan started by creating a Go Fund Me page to raise monetary donations from the community. Aidan also received a grant from the United Way Teen Works and donations from local businesses.

Once Aidan acquired the necessary materials, he led his fellow Scouts in building both structures. Now, the donation bin allows the Sanctuary to collect donations from the community more efficiently and the fence protects a sewage drain from vehicles. Overall, 228 hours of planning and volunteering were required to complete this project.

Aidan has now joined the rank of Eagles Scouts as the 51st Eagle Scout from Troop 5 and the ninth Eagle Scout from Salisbury High School mens soccer. He will graduate from Salisbury High School in the spring and plans to pursue a degree in biology and computer science.