Claremont Boy Scout Troop 402 has welcomed six new Eagle Scouts following a ceremony on Sunday at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, where the boys were recognized by their peers, family and the community for reaching the highest rank in Boy Scouting.

According to the Boy Scouts of America website, to earn the Eagle rank the scout must rise through all the other ranks, earn 21 merit badges, serve six months in a position of responsibility, perform a service project in the community, participate in a scoutmaster conference and complete their board of review interview.

The final step in becoming an Eagle Scout is to complete a service project which each of Claremont’s new honorees finished over the last year.

Cole Holmes created an outdoor classroom at Urban Farmer Training for Kids in Pomona. With the help of Troop 408 scouts, Cole constructed several picnic tables, installed a stainless-steel teaching station with a sink, and added mulch to the classroom area. The materials for the project were provided through donations from family, friends and discounts from local merchants.

Tyler Prince supplied more than 200 hand-sewn masks to the Claremont Unified School District during the COVID pandemic. He raised money to purchase materials, organized volunteers to cut patterns and arranged a seamstress to make the final product.

Scott Hermelin created trail signs along Thompson Creek Trail. He received donations to buy the wood, and with the help of other Eagle Scouts and the park rangers he created the signs, cutting and painting the wood, and then installed the post mile markers.

Ben Liera constructed multiple “buddy benches” and presented them to the children at Alcott Elementary School in Pomona. Buddy benches promote friendship by providing a spot for lonely students to sit signaling that they are open to forming new friends. Ben approached Lowes and Home Depot and was able to get all of the materials donated for free. Construction took two days with the help of other scouts.

Manav Bhavsar constructed two Little Free Libraries at Lewis and Wheeler parks in Claremont. These two libraries were built out of plywood and featured glass doors and metal roofs. The project benefited the city of Claremont, as these libraries were built for kids to use, and stocked with children’s books given by our local city library.

Ryan Gonzalez improved about 1.5 miles of the Thompson Creek Trail by upgrading and adding parts to the fence. He replaced damaged posts, rotten wood panels and painted and leveled previous ones. The project also included minor landscaping.

Claremont has a long history of producing Eagle Scouts, including last year when seven boys from Claremont’s Troop 407 received their Eagle badge.