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| Trio honored at Eagle Court of Honor |
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| Written by Maddy Houk | Patterson Irrigator | |
| Wednesday, 02 July 2008 | |
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At a glance
 Honored: Three Boy Scouts in Troop 81 were honored at an Eagle Scout Court of Honor ceremony Saturday night at the home of Paula and Tim Tooman. The troop’s newest Eagles are James Dunfee (from left) and Sammy and Zack Tooman. Photo by Elias Funez/Patterson Irrigator The Toomans join their older brothers, Johnny, Matt and Patrick, who in the past five years have attained Scouting’s highest rank. To attain the rank of Eagle, Scouts must move up through the ranks, perform community service, earn merit badges and take on an Eagle service project. Of more than 120 merit badges available, 21 must be earned to qualify for Eagle rank. Out of those 21, there are 12 required merit badges: camping, citizenship in the community, citizenship in the nation, citizenship in the world, communications, emergency preparedness, environmental science, family life, first aid, personal fitness, personal management and a choice of swimming, hiking or cycling. Eagle ceremony At the June 21 ceremony, the Rev. Steve Stoppe of First Baptist Church gave the invocation, and retired Scoutmaster Ron Swift opened the court of honor. Bob Kimball, who conducted the ceremony, read the names of Scouts in Troop 81 who have earned the Eagle Rank since 1982. Kimball spoke to the Toomans and Dunfee about the importance of being an Eagle. “In your working world, and as you get to be an adult and have a family, you are marked,” Kimball said. “An Eagle Scout carries a lot of influence.” The boys recited the Scout Oath and Scout Law and were presented with red, white and blue Eagle neckerchiefs. The trio then presented parents’ pins to Dan and Cena Dunfee and Paula and Tim Tooman. The new Eagles also presented mentor pins to those who have helped them in their quest for Eagle or their future careers. Dunfee acknowledged Tom Houk, the troop’s committee chairman, and Sammy and Zack Tooman presented their pins to brothers Matt and Gabe Tooman, respectively. A number of friends and relatives spoke on behalf of the Scouts, including Tim Tooman, now the father of five Eagle Scouts. Parents and friends do their part to support the Scouts, but in the end, he told the crowd, it is up to each boy to attain Eagle rank. “It has been a real honor to watch them go through the Troop 81 program,” the elder Tooman said. “They’ve learned if they stand up and volunteer for something, they have to do it on their own initiative.” Toomans follow in brothers’ footsteps Sammy Tooman joined Boy Scouts in November 2002 and earned his Eagle rank July 23, 2007. He has been senior patrol leader several times, assistant senior patrol leader, patrol leader and historian in the troop. Sammy has 88 nights of camping under his belt and has received a number of special honors, including 50-mile hike and polar bear swim awards. He was elected to Order of the Arrow, a National Boy Scout service group, in April 2005. For his Eagle Scout project, Sammy photographed the 4,500 graves in Patterson District Cemetery and gave the photos to the local historical society for their records and Web site. He and his fellow Scouts and adults in the troop spent 119 work hours to complete the work. His project coincided with his brother Patrick’s project, as Patrick labeled all the rows of graves. Zack Tooman, who also joined Troop 81 in November 2002, earned his Eagle rank in December 2006. He has 87 nights of camping. His Eagle project was cleaning 12,000 headstones at San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery in Gustine, which took 200 man-hours. The Scouts completed the project in a month, in time for Memorial Day 2005. Dunfee keeps organized Dunfee, a two-year member of the troop, replaced the sprinkler system for the Federated Methodist-Presbyterian Church, where Troop 81 meets. Thirty Scouts and volunteers helped him with the project, for a total of 98 hours of work. Dunfee, a good friend of the Toomans, decided be wanted to be a Scout after attending Matt, Patrick and Johnny Tooman’s Eagle ceremony in 2006. His 27 nights of camping fit in with his hobbies of hiking and camping. To reach Maddy Houk at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail her at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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