For Jacob L. Witlin, becoming an Eagle Scout meant much more than simply the prestige or honor of accomplishing such a lofty goal.
“Becoming an Eagle Scout is taking advantage of everything that Scouting has to offer and exemplifying all of those positive things, and teaching them to those that follow behind you,” says Jacob, 17, an Ellicott City resident who became an Eagle Scout last year.
Recently, the American Legion’s Department of Maryland named Jacob, a member of Boy Scouts of America Troop 874, its 2018 “Eagle Scout of the Year.”
The department’s committee selects an Eagle Scout based on his involvement in his religious institution, the Scouting religious emblems he has earned, and his demonstration of “practical citizenship in his church, school, Scouting and the community.” The Eagle Scout nominees were required to describe their activities in those areas and provide letters of recommendation and testimony.
For his Eagle Scout project, Jacob, a junior at Mount Hebron High School, built a deck with seating and railings overlooking a pond at the Lubavitch Center of Howard County in Columbia. The deck is for worship services, community gatherings, and meditation and contemplation.
Eligibility for the legion’s “Eagle Scout of the Year” and its accompanying $500 college scholarship includes being a registered and active member of a Boy Scout troop, a Varsity Scout team or a venturing crew chartered by an American Legion Post, auxiliary unit or the Sons of the American Legion Squadron.
(Besides Troop 874, which was chartered by the Glen Mar United Methodist Church in Ellicott City, Jacob is a member of the Sons of the American Legion Squadron at Post 60 in Laurel.)
Nominees from each state’s American Legion department compete for “Eagle Scout of the Year” at the national level. The national office of the American Legion will consider all nominees for the competition, and the winner receives a $10,000 scholarship. Three runners-up each receive a scholarship in the amount of $2,500.
Jacob first became involved in Scouting as a Cub Scout in 2007, while in the first grade. He joined the Boy Scouts four years later.
“To me, Scouting is learning about yourself and developing the skills to become a self-sufficient, intelligent and versatile person,” he says.
To become an Eagle Scout, the highest rank or achievement attainable in Scouting, a scout must obtain 21 badges, including those for citizenship in the community, public speaking, camping, swimming and others.
After reaching that goal, Jacob says he learned about the “Eagle Scout of the Year” award. Among the requirements is to have a family member who served in the U.S. military. Jacob’s paternal grandfather, the late Sanford H. Witlin, served in the U.S. Air Force in Vietnam from Sept. 1965 to Oct. 1966.
“He did not die there, but it serves as a strong identity piece for me,” says Jacob, who always wears his grandfather’s USAF dog tag.
During his time in Scouting, Jacob has earned a pair of religious emblem badges — the Ner Tamid (Eternal Flame) and the Etz Chaim (Tree of Life). According to the National Jewish Committee on Scouting, the Ner Tamid represents a scout’s spiritual growth, while the Etz Chaim honors a scout’s exploration of adult Jewish roles in the context of family, community and Jewish people.
Jacob and his parents, Terri and Michael Witlin, belong to Temple Isaiah in the Howard County community of Fulton. The congregation’s Rabbis Craig H. Axler and Daniel Plotkin helped Jacob complete the requirements for the emblems
Rabbi Axler praised Jacob for his determination and commitment to community and helping others.
“I hope that I have helped him by being an example of an adult in his life who takes Judaism and study seriously, and who makes meaningful connections through the performance of mitzvot [commandments],” Rabbi Axler says.
Jacob says both of the emblems are quite meaningful to him. “While my troop is majority Christian, several members of my troop attended my Ner Tamid ceremony when it was held at my synagogue,” he says. “They supported my choice to earn this ‘Duty to God’ [credo], which showed that I wanted to grow stronger in my faith.
“I have been pretty involved in my Jewish community, and it is nice that two communities that mean a lot to me have a bridge now,” Jacob said. “Something to connect them.”
Jordan Loux is a Baltimore-based freelance writer.
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