Two St. Lawrence County members of Boy Scout Troop 77 earn national awards

POTSDAM -- Boy Scout Troop 77 members Jeffrey Guerard (left) and Lucas Hanss (right) recently earned national awards.

Guerard is now an Eagle Scout, the organization's highest rank, which requires the scout to complete 21 merit badges and perform a substantial community service project where his leadership skills are tested. Nationwide, only 4 percent of Scouts obtain this rank. Guerard is a sophomore at St. Lawrence Central.

Hanss earned his Life Rank and was voted by his peers into the Lowanne Nimat Lodge of the Order of the Arrow. OA is a national scout service organization. The Lodge is comprised of scouts from 6 counties: Cayuga, Onondaga, Oswego, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence. Hanss was also awarded the Silver Level of the National Outdoor Award for Camping recognizing that he has camped 125 nights. He received the National Historic Trails Award for his work with the Fort La Présentation Association’s annual War of 1812 Heritage Symposium. Hanss is a freshman at Potsdam Central School.

The pair recently completed the Boy Scouts of America’s National Youth Leadership Training held by The Revolutionary Trails Council, Utica. It is a six-day course designed to teach leadership skills, hone group-work skills and public presentation techniques.