Three Eastside scouts honored at Court of Honor ceremony

Elliott Hendrickson, Alexander Raffetto, and Andrew Sugamele were presented with Eagle Scout honors.

January 19, 2020 1:30 am
Photo courtesy of Deborah Hendrickson A recent Eagle Scout Court of Honor recognized Elliott Hendrickson of Mercer Island, Alexander Raffetto of Bellevue and Andrew Sugamele of Mercer Island.
Photo courtesy of Deborah Hendrickson A recent Eagle Scout Court of Honor recognized Elliott Hendrickson of Mercer Island, Alexander Raffetto of Bellevue and Andrew Sugamele of Mercer Island.

Marking the culmination of years of steadfast work and accomplishment, three Eastside Boy Scouts recently achieved the final step in their Eagle Scout journey with a Court of Honor ceremony.

The scouts are members of Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Troop 647, sponsored by Redeemer Lutheran Church on Mercer Island.

Elliott Hendrickson of Mercer Island, Alexander Raffetto of Bellevue, and Andrew Sugamele of Mercer Island, were presented with their Eagle Scout honors by Troop 647 scoutmaster David Fick. Other ceremony speakers included former Troop 647 scoutmaster Steve Townsend and BSA Camp Parsons head commissioner Josh Paley. The colors were presented and retired by Troop 647 senior patrol leader Christopher Lein, patrol leader John Lee and patrol leader Chase Shavey.

As part of the ceremony, each scout presented highlights of his Eagle Scout project:

Alexander Raffetto worked with residents at Covenant Living at the Shores retirement community on Mercer Island to create a native bird habitat there. The project featured the installation of native plants which provide year-round natural bird food and shelter, and specially-designed birdhouses to attract and house local species. Several residents who are former Boy Scouts and Eagle Scouts participated in the project.

Andrew Sugamele designed and constructed a weatherproof, permanent message board for the Learning Garden space at Island Park Elementary School. The message board provides a convenient tool for the school to display information to students about the garden. The project received donations from three local lumber companies: Lumber Market, Inc., Dunn Lumber Company and Marine Lumber Service.

Elliott Hendrickson partnered with the Mercer Island Parks and Recreation Department to construct a 180-foot post and rail fence in the northwest quadrant of Pioneer Park. The fence protects the area from human and dog traffic, which helps support efforts to restore native groundcover and indigenous plant life to that area.

Troop 647 has been an active part of the Mercer Island Community since 1969. In that time, 119 members of the troop have led Eagle Scout projects to benefit the area and its residents.

Find out more about scouting on Mercer Island at www.troop647.com.