Scout's honor: Local teen earns Eagle badge

Eagle Scouts rock, though none more so than La Conner’s Ian McCormick.

Few can forget his stirring guitar solo of the Star-Spangled Banner before a La Conner High basketball game last winter. Now, six months later, there’s something else for which the 14-year-old incoming freshman will be long remembered.

He has earned his Eagle badge before entering high school.

Eagle is the highest rank attainable in the Boys Scouts of America program, and only about four per cent of its members reach that level, with most of those much older than Ian when they do so.

“He’s definitely on the younger end,” says his mom, Allyson McCormick.

Ian didn’t waste time amassing badges with Troop 4056, in Conway, led by Scoutmaster Gregory Peterson.

He got an early start by joining Cub Scouts in La Conner, and has had plenty of encouragement from his parents.

It turns out that scouting, like music, is in Ian’s DNA. His great-grandpa, the late Francis Jensen, Jr., completed four 50-mile hikes as a Boy Scout.

Living in the Flagstaff area near Snee-Oosh has also proved ideally suited to Ian’s pursuit of scout badges.

“We have a big back yard,” Ian says, “so there’s lots of room to try out stuff. And I’ve always been into fishing and camping.”

His other pastimes include choir, soccer and track, and he’s already a serious science student. In his rare spare time Ian watches science documentaries.

Given his wide range of interests, scouting is a perfect outlet for Ian.

His dad, Bryan McCormick, gave Ian the idea for his ambitious Eagle project – undertaking a major beach clean-up at nearby Hope Island, accessible only by boat.

Ian enlisted the help of friends Peter Foote, Kevin Elston and Gabe Barnett. Peter’s dad piloted the boat. Together they put in more than half a day on the island, removing discarded tires, bottles, Styrofoam and even the remnants of a refrigerator someone had left behind.

“The day went really fast,” says Ian.

Part of the reason is the project was so well planned. All told, Ian estimates he invested about 80 hours from start to finish.

Yet for Ian, earning his Eagle isn’t so much an end but a beginning. He can continue to earn merit badges and Eagle palms, which are degrees of the Eagle Scout rank.

Having already earned badges for shotgun shooting and wilderness survival, among other skills, Ian next plans a return to music, a family tradition. He is working toward a badge for music composition, something that’s virtually second nature to him.

After all, Ian and his dad practice the guitar together. His great-grandpa, Bruce McCormick, and grandpa, Darrell McCormick, are accomplished musicians who often provide entertainment at the La Conner Alumni Association’s annual banquet.

Ian’s plan, spelled out in a soft voice and with quiet confidence, is to compose a piece this week. He has no doubt it can be done.

Ian gives credit to the scouting experience for helping him meet such challenges head-on, and sings its praises for others who might consider following suit.

“Honestly,” he explains, “once you get to Eagle it gives you this great sense of accomplishment. It helps give you a better sense of what you can achieve.”