ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 26, 1995 TAG: 9512260013
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER CURRENT
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: KENNETH SINGLETARY STAFF WRITER
ED WILSON of Blacksburg has flown a long way in his short time with the Boy Scouts - and he's attracted some pretty impressive attention along the way.
Ed Wilson's drive and determination belie his years, and his accomplishments would make anyone - Boy Scout or not - proud.
Wilson is a 12-year-old eighth-grader at Blacksburg Middle School who also is an Eagle Scout with Troop 706 at Blacksburg's St. Mary's Catholic Church.
Thousands of boys have earned the Eagle Scout rank, but few have done so at such an early age.
Wilson's accomplishments have earned him not only the regard of his family, friends and fellow scouts, but recognition from a gaggle of notable politicians, apparently thanks to a listing about him on the Internet.
Wilson was not surprised when he received a letter of congratulations from Gov. George Allen - it's a tradition for Virginia's governors to send such letters to Eagle Scouts - but similar missives from President Clinton; Sen. John Warner, R-Va.; Sen. Chuck Robb, D-Va.; Rep. Richard Gephardt, D-Mo.; Ross Perot; Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas; and J.W. Marriott Jr., president and CEO of the Marriott Hotel corporation, were unexpected.
Wilson joined the Scouts as soon as he was able, at 101/2. He moved up through the ranks - Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life, Eagle - in 2 1/2 years, the minimum possible time. Along the way way he earned more than 40 merit badges and was involved in 30 activities, including camping trips and service projects.
But his biggest accomplishment may be the service project he completed to become an Eagle Scout, a rank only 1.5 percent of all Scouts attain.
Wilson designed and constructed a walking path to a meditation garden, itself an Eagle Scout service project completed by another boy at St. Mary's.
The job, which he completed last summer, entailed making a plan, getting approval, supervising the work, and submitting the paperwork.
"The garden gets very little use by church members because the existing path leading to the garden is steep and is on a slope, making the walk difficult," Wilson wrote in his 20-page, typed project description. "The path will make the Meditation Garden more accessible to the members of St. Mary's Catholic Church, especially the elderly and the handicapped."
Wilson used the help of 12 people during the 11-day project, including the members of his troop and four adults. All told, he and his assistants spent 107 hours on the job, including 13 hours planning it.
The cost was $75 for landscaping timbers and wood. Many of the other materials were donated.
"I was able to see the value of planning in advance in order to make my project successful," Wilson wrote in his report. "I learned that leadership, organization and responsibility are traits necessary to complete an Eagle Project."
In person, the soft-spoken Wilson, who turned 13 on Dec. 17, said the biggest lesson he learned in completing the project was, "Don't give up."
Though Wilson is young for an Eagle Scout, no one who knows him blinked when he attained the rank. His father, James Wilson, has been an assistant scout master for 15 years and was a scout master for three years. His two brothers and a nephew are Eagle Scouts, too, and his grandfather and two uncles also attained the rank.
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: GENE DALTON/Staff. Eagle Scout Ed Wilson, 12, displaysby CNBsome of the letters he's received from around the country, from
President Clinton to senators to a Supreme Court justice. He belongs
to Troop 706 at St. Mary's Catholic Church
in Blacksburg. color.