The Coastal Carolina Council of The Boy Scouts of America announced today that a South Carolina family has achieved a distinctive honor. Skip, Will, Peter and Philip McGee, the four sons of David and Lynn McGee, have all earned their Eagle Scout Award.
This family’s story underscores the benefits of membership in the national Scouting movement. The two oldest sons completed the last steps in earning their Eagle rank after re-locating from Indiana to South Carolina. Skip McGee and Will McGee completed their Eagle projects in Columbus, IN as members of Troop 557 sponsored by the North Christian Church and passed a South Carolina Board of Review in 2005. Peter McGee and Philip McGee completed Eagle projects on Spring Island, SC and in Bluffton, SC respectively and earned the rank of Eagle as members of Troop 213 of Okatie, SC. Troop 213 is sponsored by the Okatee Baptist Church. The four young men are the sons of an Eagle Scout, David McGee.
The four Eagle projects completed by the brothers display the diversity of opportunities to make a difference in local communities that Scouting offers. Skip McGee proposed, planned, secured funding and installed a handicapped bathroom in Love Chapel, a food pantry and housing, financial assistance and resource center operated by the Ecumenical Assembly of Bartholomew County Churches. Will McGee worked with the Board of Directors of the Atterbury-Bakalar Museum in Columbus, Indiana and developed a cataloguing system for their growing library of aeronautical materials. The museum celebrates the history an aviation training base used from World War II through the Cold War. In addition, Will led a landscaping project at the original Atterbury-Bakalar base chapel. Peter McGee led a team of Scouts that raised funds and constructed 40 bluebird houses to be used for Smithsonian Institution research sponsored by Clemson University and the Low Country Institute on Spring Island, SC: “Protecting Biodiversity at the Wildland-Urban Interface.” Philip McGee planned, secured funding and organized the construction of a fenced playground at the Family Promise Day Center in Bluffton, SC, which provides housing and support for homeless families.
Each of the brothers took advantage of national Scouting opportunities. Skip completed a trek at Philmont Scout Ranch, as well as a 50 Miler at Boundary Waters in Minnesota and troop backpacking 50 Milers. Both he and Will attended White Stag National Junior Leadership Training and participated in summer camps at Maumee Scout Camp, Brownstown IN. Will completed a sailing experience at the Florida Sea Base, and attended the 2005 National Scout Jamboree. Peter was elected trek leader of his Philmont contingent crew, and attended the 2005 National Scout Jamboree. Philip completed a 50-Miler trip with his troop, and attended the 2010 National Scout Jamboree. Peter and Philip participated in summer camps at Ho Nan Wah on Wadamalaw Island, SC. All brothers achieved Brotherhood in the Order of the Arrow.
After graduating from St. John’s College in Santa Fe, NM, where he served on the Santa Fe County Search and Rescue Team, Skip is currently serving as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Marine Corps, stationed at Quantico, VA. Will McGee graduated from the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics and is currently a Midshipman 2nd Class at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. Peter McGee graduated from Savannah Christian Preparatory School and is a Midshipman 4th Class (Plebe) at the US Naval Academy. Philip McGee is a sophomore at Savannah Christian Preparatory School in Savannah, GA. The family resides in Okatie, SC.
About The Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America is one of the nation’s largest and most prominent values-based youth development organizations. The BSA provides a program for young people that builds character, trains them in the responsibilities of participating citizenship, and develops personal fitness. For over a century, the BSA has helped build the future leaders of this country by combining educational activities and lifelong values with fun. The Boy Scouts of America believes — and, through over a century of experience, knows — that helping youth is a key to building a more conscientious, responsible, and productive society.
About the agencies benefitting from the Eagle Scout Projects:
Love Chapel, Columbus, IN: www.columbuslovechapel.com
Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum, Columbus, IN: www.atterburybakalarairmuseum.org
Lowcountry Institute, Spring Island, SC: www.lowcountryinstitute.org
Family Promise, Beaufort County, SC: www.familypromisebeaufortcounty.org
